Temptation
by moodiful819
Summary: She was just your average high school innocent, and it was only a matter of time before he began to fall for her... .:A darker look at Kakasaku. AU. Lemon:.
1. Temptation

It's a darker look on the Kakasaku relationship. It's an AU high school thing based on a song by The Police that's been tailing me for two weeks and now that I have time, here it is.

Disclaimer: Don't own Naruto or the Police, otherwise Kakasaku would be canon (hopefully it still will be).

---------

Quiet footsteps echoed in the hallways lit dimly from the muted light filtering from the windows of classrooms and the fluorescent bulbs above. His black Oxford shoes shined in this light and he withdrew the hand buried in his Taupe grey pants pocket to flip the page of the thick book in his hand. Behind him, he heard the giggling of two girls and felt their eyes ogling him. He rolled bi-colored eyes before closing the book deftly and withdrawing the keys from his pocket and opening the door, a twinge of annoyance running through his system as the room became deafening with its silence. He sighed.

"Hello class."

_Young teacher the subject  
Of schoolgirl fantasy  
She wants him so badly  
Knows what she wants to be  
Inside her there's longing  
This girl's an open page  
Book marking - she's so close now  
This girl is half his age_

As the man wrote on the chalkboard, his silver hair shining in the light of the cloudy day, the teens in the classroom began to talk in hushed whispers. Some of the whispers carried talk of cars and the latest movie, but the majority consisted of the hideous gushing and incessant giggling of the female population and through it all, came the sound of a dreamy sigh from the front of the room.

"Write down the assignment, then complete it. I want it on my desk by the end of class," the man said tossing the chalk into the air and catching it without shifting his gaze from the class.

"Yes, sensei," chorused the class in a bored tone, but there was a chipper voice in the sea of monotonous voices that could only belong to one person. That girl who sat in the front row of his class. He cleared his throat.

"Haruno Sakura."

The girl jumped in her seat with a start. "Yes, Kakashi-sensei?"

"Get to work," Kakashi said before sitting in the wooden seat of his chair and nodding at her reply of "yes, sensei."

Haruno Sakura was a paradox. Though she had an unusual eye color (beryl green), it wasn't that that drew attention, but her pink hair. One would assume it was dyed that way, and because of that, one would assume she was a trouble child, but in reality, her hair was naturally that way and she was the usual goody-two-shoes. The sweet, naïve, innocent with one fatal flaw.

_She was in love with her teacher._

Kakashi sighed and raked a hand tiredly through his silver hair. He didn't understand what made him appeal to the female population or her for that matter. He was 30, nearly twice her age seeing how she was at the tender age of sixteen. He had grey hair already and never revealed the lower portion of his face. (Strangely enough, his neurotic obsession of covering the lower portion of his face with a mask drew the women in closer.) He also kept his left eye covered by an eye patch and looked like absolutely nothing of interest. He wore black Oxfords, grey suits with white pinstripes, and a green or red tie. He carried a briefcase holding student work and drove your standard middle-class car. Absolutely nothing of interest.

He smirked from behind the cover of the thick book in his hand. Like her, he was a paradox. Despite how he portrayed himself to his students, he was far from a straight-laced saint. He drank and swore on occasion, but he had one vice.

_Sex._

Hatake Kakashi, the English 1A teacher, had an infamous reputation for it. He was an excellent lover and took a woman at least once a month. He was also famous for his perverted tendencies. He'd fuck a woman anytime, anywhere. He'd done it in a broom closet at least five times with the gym teacher, Anko in the past six months. Usually, they would initiate the invite and he would accept. Who was he to decline such a gracious offer?

He treated sex like an art, bringing his companions to climax only after teasing them into such a frenzy that they sobbed, begging desperately for a release they both knew only he could grant.

Foreplay was always his favorite because he could make them putty in his hands. He was always in control and whispering dirty encouragements in their ears as he buried himself in their warmth while torturing them with reminders to keep quiet, lest someone know they were screwing in a classroom when students were just outside.

He smirked to himself, smug as he remembered his conquests before turning to the book in his hands. Though the cover was an old classic, what lay inside the pages was a hentai novel, carefully placed within the cutout pages of the book.

Placing a hand on the page, he turned both pages, the sound of only one paper turning carefully honed from practicing the charade like music to his ears. Immersing himself in the exploits of the protagonist, Junko, he found himself slowly drifting into a world where the female lead had an unusual shade of green in her eyes and petal-soft pink hair. He closed his eyes and where Junko once lay on the page, Kakashi had replaced him and the buxom woman was an innocent teenaged girl with features befitting her name.

He quickly shook his head and cleared the thoughts from his mind. He glanced over the top of the book and saw that she had that daydreaming look on her face again. A finger twitched and he quickly slipped it under his thigh. Though he was a jaded pervert, there was another paradox to him. He had a conscience, and though he could feel that something inside him was attracted to her innocence, his morals railed in his ears and he sighed and put the book down. There was no point in trying again. He'd been trying to get her out of his mind since last month, but her bloody naivety and her even bloodier smiles that dared to try and warm his heart were stuck in his mind.

"Haruno, unless you want detention, I suggest you get back to your work," he said, sighing inwardly as she started again and resumed her work after looking at him, horrified and blushing with a deep red as the students snickered at her. Idly, he wondered how far that blush would go if he slid his hand up her—

'_No,'_ he chided himself. As much as his darker side would love to taste her, she was off-limits. As someone entrusted to keep her welfare in mind, he had no right as her teacher to think of her in such a way. He glanced up briefly to see a hand in the air and motioned the owner forward, noticing only too late who the owner was.

"Sakura," he stated and saw her blush and fidget. This girl was too easy to read. The other females in the class glared.

"Sensei, I have a question about this problem," she said biting her lip nervously.

"Which problem?" he asked looking at the textbook placed in front of him. He felt her warmth leak into his skin from her body as she leaned over his shoulder. She brushed against him and shuddered slightly, imperceptible to everyone but him. He remained silent.

"You simply analyze the sentence and correct the punctuation using commas, semicolons, and periods," he explained, willing his body to remain calm as the smell of jasmine wafted to his nose. It wasn't perfume; she wasn't the type to wear it unlike many of his female students, so it was most likely her soap. His body tensed slightly at the thought of her naked body as the floral scent continued to entrap him. It wasn't overpowering, but subtle. She wasn't doing this purposefully. She probably had no idea she smelled like the small white flowers, but it was that naivety that had gotten him in this mess in the first place.

"Do you understand?"

"Hai, sensei," she replied enthusiastically and his mouth watered slightly. She was so eager, so ready to please him. The thought excited him. All he had to do was ask with the false prospect of something more and she'd give to him in earnest, but such action went against his moral fiber and left him unsettled by his primal urges. With a brief wave, he motioned her back to her seat and she went back obediently with a small cheery smile on her face.

His finger twitched once more.

_Don't stand, don't stand so  
Don't stand so close to me  
Don't stand, don't stand so  
Don't stand so close to me_

They seemed to have a system between them in the months that followed. If he had an errand to do, she would automatically raise her hand to accept and he'd choose her for it, naturally. It seemed like he was out to sabotage himself, constantly accepting her help for menial tasks such as paperwork and copying; though as much as he didn't want to admit it, she was charming and it seemed she trusted him completely. A voice in his head would constantly remind him to take advantage of it, trying to convince him that it was something that both would enjoy, but it was wrong and he'd shut away the voice for another day until he saw her face again.

_Her friends are so jealous  
You know how bad girls get  
Sometimes it's not so easy  
To be the teacher's pet  
Temptation, frustration  
So bad it makes him cry  
Wet bus stop, she's waiting  
His car is warm and dry  
_

"Slut!" screeched a female voice as a car peeled out into the night. Sakura hugged herself to keep warm. It was January and night had already fallen. Though it had not snowed this year, it had rained and the water shared its frozen counterpart's cold, but the cold sensation had yet to register. All she could think about was the sound of her best friend's scathing words in her ear.

It was no secret that she was in love with their English teacher and it was no secret that her friends did not approve.

_She just didn't know how much._

When Tenten, Hinata, and her best friend, Ino pulled her into the bathroom after finding her returning a stack of papers to their sensei, she had thought nothing of it. It was only when Tenten locked the door behind them and Ino landed the first blow and the first of the venom revealed itself that she realized how much they disliked his showering of attention. Apparently, she wasn't the only one who liked their sensei.

Though it was revealed that Ino held feelings for their teacher, it was also shown that her friends disapproved of such feelings and when the pain could no longer be felt, Tenten and Ino stepped back to reprimand her for such foolish behavior. They offered no pity for her and though Hinata had not touched her, the disappointment in her eyes hurt all the same.

They had driven her out of the school and shoved her into the street and she crawled out of the gutter to lean against a bus stop. The rain smelled sweet and felt soothing to her. She let her arms press tighter against herself, mindful of her bruises as she imagined that it was his arms around her and felt the pain ebb slightly. She smiled. Lost in her wistful dreams, she failed to notice the car that stopped by where she stood or that the window had rolled down. Over the din of the rain pattering on the car hood, she could hear his voice ask, "Need a lift?"

She nodded and he leaned over to open the door. She climbed inside and at the contrast of temperatures, shivered. Kakashi draped a towel over her head and drove into the night before asking where she lived. She gave him directions and it was not long afterwards that they arrived at her residence. He turned the engine off, but left the car on and helped remove the towel from her body when he noticed the purple marks on her arms. "You're hurt," he stated.

"It's nothing," she told him, covering her arms only to expose the bruises on her back through the wet fabric of her white uniform shirt. She opened the door and motioned to swing her legs out when he gripped her wrist and held her back. She swung her head to face him and it was then that he noticed just how close they were. Two inches separated them, but it was enough for him to feel the chill on her skin.

"If something happened, you'd tell me, right? I am your teacher and it's my responsibility to look for you," he said in a serious tone, the sound of the windshield wipers mixing with the sound of his voice.

"Mmm," she replied with a nod and with a slight reluctance, nodded and let her go. She shut the door behind her and he watched her enter her house before driving back to his apartment for a restless night of sleep. Fitful dreams of their coupling where he could hear his name fall off his lips in a breathless whisper and feel her skin against his and just how heavenly she would feel around him and when he'd wake, a sense of self-loathing and disgust with himself would creep up his spine and thread through his system.

His lust became a poison for him. He was so tempted by her and she would be so willing, but despite all the sane-mannered things in the world, he cared for his student's well-being in earnest. Though his primal urges wanted to be sated, he wouldn't let his demons run him for concern of the girl. He shouldn't have been having feelings for such a girl and with the lust, the guilt ate at him from the inside, slowly killing him and he found himself in his weakest moments mourning for himself and his weakness.

_Don't stand, don't stand so  
Don't stand so close to me  
Don't stand, don't stand so  
Don't stand so close to me_

Trust.

It was a matter of trust that he keep her pure. She trusted him fully and completely with the eyes of a child that he found he could not bear to see break.

Trust had always been an issue with him. He could trust in your ability, but he could never trust in you as a person. People also seemed to think the same of him, which was probably why the male population sought him out for help on work and the female population sought him out for sex. And now that he found someone willing to trust him as a person, he found the thought endearing and felt the earth shatter from his revelation. He simply couldn't break her trust because she put trust her in him as a person and she was the first person to do so.

But his demons would not let him rest and where there was light, there would be shadow and that was where his demons played.

_Loose talk in the classroom  
To hurt, they try and try  
Strong words in the staff room  
The accusations fly  
It's no use, he sees her  
He starts to shake and cough  
Just like the old man in  
That book by Nabokov_

Kakashi strolled leisurely through the halls, ignoring the whispers of students as he passed.

"Look, it's him," they'd say as he walked past, pointing fingers over the tops of textbooks. Apparently, someone had spread a rumor that he was sleeping with his student. They'd automatically believed it since they already had a target in mind.

"Hi Kakashi-sensei!"

"Sakura," he nodded briefly in stark contrast to her cheerful greeting and it seemed to fan the flames. More people seemed to become caught in the rumor's snare, slowly bending them to its will as they began talking about their supposed relationship.

To be honest, he could care less. His reputation was something he had not earned intentionally and he could care less if it was dragged through the mud. In fact, he'd pull up a chair to watch, but it was the other things he was worried about. Apparently, his reputation wasn't the only one being sullied. Sakura's was in a worse state as stigmas of whore and slut were attached.

If she had noticed, she didn't let it show, but it was no surprise. It seemed she had gotten quite adept at hiding her inner turmoil.

As he stepped into the teacher's lounge for a cup of tea, it seemed that even here, he could not escape them. The jealous whispers of women seemed to tail him where ever he went.

"Look, it's him."

"I hear this isn't the first time."

"I heard that girl he's sleeping with has two boyfriends."

"Cheap floozy."

"What a jerk, he doesn't seem to care how this reflects upon us teachers."

But he could honestly care less, and what of their behavior? Didn't this prove that the teachers were no better than their younger counterparts, despite the staff meeting addressing this matter? They had done a thorough background investigation and had even administered a lie-detector test, which he had passed with flying colors. Even if he had been sleeping with her, the evidence would've shown by now and he wouldn't have been alive. Not when the girl they constantly referred to as a harlot was the cherished godchild of one Akiyama Tsunade, principal of the school.

Tea in hand, he decided to stare out of the window, lazily reclining against the frame with a dreamer's eye that seemed to infuriate the women further, but again, he could not care; he had other matters at hand.

Sleep. When had he last gotten a decent night of sleep? One that didn't include waking up in the middle of the night with his sheets twisted beneath his clenched fists and a cold shower to placate his body, but did nothing to wash away his guilt. The sensations grew stronger with each passing day, the dreams became more real and he found it harder to pull himself from the dreams. It wouldn't be too long before it would be impossible to tell fantasy from fact.

Laughter reached his ears and he looked down just in time to see his pink-haired temptress run to fetch the ball and he cursed their culture as he watched her move back to her group in a pair of tight-fitting shorts and a T-shirt.

It seemed someone up there loathed him with a vengeance.

-

Rain beat down on Sakura as she hugged her arms to retain what little warmth she had left. It was Thursday, the day before their day off from school. A finger brushed a bruise and she flinched. Ever since her friends voiced their disapproval, it seemed it gave others the courage to do the same. It became a right of passage for the females of the school. Today, it was Kin and Tayuya, two girls from Asuma-sensei's English class.

Hesitantly, she reached up to brush away the hair glued to her face by the water and swept it up in a bun before rubbing her arms for warmth, her breath coming out in small puffs of steam. Where was he?

"Need a lift?" he asked, like all the other times. Like all the other times he found her in the rain under the cover of the roof of the bus stop, soaked to the bone with bruises marring her pale skin.

Wordlessly, she nodded like all the other times and he wordlessly opened the door and slid in and like all the other times, she shivered as she realized how cold it was outside the warmth of his car. As per their wordless routine, he draped a white towel across her shoulder and waited until she could feel her body warm slightly before nodding and he would nod back and drive off into the night.

As per routine, he would roll up to her gate and turn the key, killing the engine, but keeping the electricity running. Usually, he would ask the usual question of if anything happened, she'd tell him. He knew she was getting hurt and she knew he knew, but she would never give him the answer he wanted. She would just smile and say 'of course,' and leave the car. This time, silence stretched between them and she noticed his left hand rest on the steering wheel while the index finger of his right hand tapped the leather of his seat. He turned to her.

"How long are you going to let this continue?" he asked finally, a mix of frustration and exasperation in his voice. It was the most emotion he'd ever shown her.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," she said, the towel shielding her face from his view, her voice a bare whisper.

"Yes, you do!" he hissed as he pulled up her sleeve to show her the dark bruise above her elbow.

"It's nothing. I fell," she replied, numbly pulling the sleeve back to its original position.

"You fell. For the 276th time in three weeks?" he asked sarcastically.

"I didn't know you were keeping count," she remarked.

His eye narrowed. "Stop it."

"Stop what?" she asked innocently, but it was too late to play coy.

"Stop this."

"Stop what?" She refused to face him and he jerked her roughly and she looked at him for the first time since they began talking. He ignored her flinch as his fingers wound around a bruise.

"Stop playing games with me," he said, the shadow of a threat hanging over his words.

"What games?" she asked facing away from him.

"Don't act like you don't know."

"Know what?"

"That you have feelings for me. That you have for a long time. That you want a relationship with me."

"You're insane," she said, moving towards the door when he jerked her back, his fingers catching her chin so she couldn't turn away.

"Then say it. Say it to my face. Tell me that you want nothing from me," he hissed.

She stared up at him, her mind blank as she gazed at him with wide eyes. The pad of his thumb brushed the small dip near the corner of her lip and his other hand remained locked around her wrist as he trailed his hand against her jaw line. She leaned into the touch, her eyes never leaving his, even when his hand left her wrist and he leaned nearer.

Fingers brushed porcelain skin as he returned his hand to the steering wheel. Even though they beat her, her face remained untouched. Her skin was still pale, still smooth. It felt wonderful under his fingertips.

His thumb continued to brush against her cheek and her eyes became dazed as her cheeks flushed and her mouth opened slightly. He looked at her parted lips and noticed their sheen in the light of the moon.

The air tasted sweet and the space between them felt like fire. The night was silent, the rain having stopped long ago as his thumb grazed her lower lip and a moan left her lips. It felt right. This felt so right and he knew that her title of temptress had been rightly earned. She was drawing him in helplessly without even trying and he leaned slightly, feeling their breaths mingle, the scent of jasmine driving him wild.

She would taste heavenly. He knew this, could taste her on the tip of his tongue. The thought of her cries of ecstasy as he took in her in his car just outside her house, screaming his name loud enough for her parents to hear made him dizzy with anticipation. This, all of this, all of her would be his in mere seconds and he couldn't have been more impatient for anything in his life.

She sat absolutely still as he leaned towards her. He could feel her breathing against his lips; feel her warmth through the layers of clothing separating them. Their noses were just brushing and his senses became more acute. He could feel how her breasts rose and fell as she breathed, how her scent was wrapping around him and pulling him in, how his hair brushed against her pink tendrils as a droplet of water fell into the valley between her creamy swells in the air of the night. Nothing in the world could compare to this feeling.

He leaned forward, their lips almost touching. He exhaled against her cheek and she shivered against him, the brief sensation of her body against his firing sparks along his system. This, this was what he had dreamed of for months on end. How he'd take her for the first time, how he would be her first and pleasure her body and please her until the dawn rose and her voice would be hoarse from screaming his name.

He was so close. Her body was nearly his and he could already feel how tight she would be when her inner walls finally closed around him. His lips were almost upon her, the hands resting on her shoulders tracing the fabric of the straps that lay beneath his fingers and-

"K-Kakashi-sensei?" Sakura asked timidly, her eyes wide and tinged bright with fear. He blinked; the fog of lust gone from his eyes to behold the frightened girl before him and snatched the hands from her shoulders as if scalded. Realization dawned upon him and to his horror and disgust, reminded him of his lecherous thoughts. Thoughts of being between her spread legs and branding her as his own, showing her the possibilities that lay within her, just underneath her innocence.

She reached up, slowly pulling the towel from her head and resting it within her fisted hand as she looked at her teacher, his head and shoulders slumped in defeat as his fists lay clenched at his sides.

"Kakashi-sensei, are you-"

"Sakura, I think it would be best if you go home now. Your parents must be worried."

She opened her mouth to disagree, but one look from his haunted gaze told her to do as she was told. With a brief nod, she thanked him for the ride and exited the car.

He watched her go, her back turned to him as she walked towards her house. Only when she disappeared behind the door did he allow himself to bow his head against his steering wheel.

He had managed to control himself this time, but as he remembered the sensation of her warmth against him and heard her moan in his ear, he didn't know how much longer he could last.

_Don't stand, don't stand so  
Don't stand so close to me  
Don't stand, don't stand so  
Don't stand so close to me  
Don't stand, don't stand so  
Don't stand so close to me  
_


	2. Brutality

This story will have shounen-ai. (Only time I'm warning you if you haven't read the summary or weren't paying attention.) Tell me if anyone else finds this interesting. Sasunaru: the most non-canon canon pairing.

Anyway, after much demand, here it is. Chapter 2. Next update is April 9th.

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"Bye mom!"

The woman in the car smiled and waved through the lowered car window. "Bye honey. Oh, remember that I'm working late tonight and your father is too. Dinner is in the fridge and say hi to Ino and them for me. You should invite them over sometime, Sakura. I haven't seen them in a while."

"Sure, mom," Sakura said and waved to the rear window of her mother's car as she drove away before hanging her head tiredly and kicking a rock with her shoe. "Sure, mom."

She watched as people began to file into the school and she forced her feet to move, guilt gnawing away at her inside. She really shouldn't have lied to her mother. She should've told her mother the truth when this first started, but how could she? How could tell her mother that Ino, Tenten, and Hinata had deserted her—that vicious rumors were flying around the school about her—that the reason for the bruises on her body weren't from P.E., but people—that the reason she was getting beat up on a regular basis was because she was in love with her teacher. Sakura knew her mother was unbelievably understanding, but even that had its limits.

As soon as she stepped through the doors of the school, the halls fell silent. Once upon the time, she would've looked around at the faces with unease, but that was once upon a time. Now she just walked past the people lining both sides of the hall, the crowd having parted to see her walk of shame. She did not raise her head to acknowledge their jeering and propositions, or the rumors that flew over her head and when a girl in her math class stepped into her path and bumped into her, spilling Sakura and her things to the floor and she demanded apology, Sakura whispered a small 'sorry' before picking up her items and walking once more, leaving the whispering crowds in the halls until she had to leave for her next class.

-

-

"Slut!"

A small whimper. A hiss of pain.

"Whore!"

Steady breathing. She closed her eyes, lying on her side as blood trickled from the corner of her lips and she breathed, biding her time until they left and she could stand up, scoop up her books, and walk to the bus stop and wait for him to pick her up. She would have to wipe the mud from her skirt. She didn't want to dirty up his car. Even if he understood and did not mind, she wouldn't feel right if she left dried mud on his leather seats.

"Hey, listen to us when we talk to you!" the girl above her screamed. Who was she again? Kiku? Was that her name? She couldn't remember. The faces and the names began to blur after a while. Now she just counted the minutes until they stopped and breathed.

It was five more minutes until they finally stopped and left, throwing their heads back as they cackled and Sakura lay there looking up at the side. It had been shorter than usual. Normally, it would last twenty minutes to half an hour, but it was only fifteen minutes today, though the damage was about the same. They had worn high-heels after all.

She sat up, hugging her stomach as she coughed up blood into her hand. Struggling to her feet, she felt her body sway and stumbled to a bench not far away to survey her wounds from today like a child would look at an insect in a bottle; analytical, yet steeped in curiosity and wonder.

Small circular bruises dotted up and down her arms, larger ones beginning to appear on her knees from when they used their book bags to hit her. Maybe she would visit Shizune today. She would need some Band-aids for her cuts and Shizune was the school nurse and the only woman she trusted with her injuries. After all, she had made her swore not to tell Tsunade about this and she had yet to break her trust.

Pushing herself to her feet, she wobbled to the fountain next to the bench and peered at her reflection in the water and sighed. Those girls were fools. They didn't know where to hit to conceal their tracks. How could she explain to her mother the bruise on her cheek from when the other girl slapped her? She sighed; she'd think of something later.

Dipping her hand into the water, she shivered at the chill before brushing her fingers over the dried blood, wiping it away and surveying her work.

'_This will have to do,'_ she told herself before limping back to her bag. She was limping? When had she started limping? Did they sprain her ankle?

'_Better have Shizune check that out too,'_ she thought as she moved towards the building. On her way, she spotted her old friends. Shyly, she smiled and waved at them and saw Tenten awkwardly return the greeting as Hinata flushed and saw the shadow of guilt that flickered over their faces. Watching as Ino refused to return the gesture, she began moving towards the building once more, dragging her right foot behind her as she got closer and closer to the building. On a whim, she glanced back to see if her old friends were still there to notice that Ino had looked over her shoulder to her. A bubble of hope leapt into her throat alongside her heart and she grinned at the girl, only to frown when Ino turned her nose and sauntered away.

It would be the last time she would see Ino. She transferred the next day.

-

-

Trees lined the suburban area as rain-slicked roads gleamed in the moonlight. The streetlights were on. Kakashi shut off the car and gazed out at the scenery.

"You were late today," he stated.

"I know. I'm sorry," Sakura apologized, wrapping the towel around her in an effort to keep warm. She had gotten caught in the rain again.

"No need, you were only getting yourself treated."

Sakura turned to him aghast. Had Shizune told?

"I saw you heading towards the nurse's office," he explained.

She nodded and stared out at the street as the streetlight bounced off the slick road, orange mixing with the blue of the moon and the black of the tar. The trees rustled from outside the car and in the distance, the sound of a cat meowing echoed in the deserted street.

"Kakashi, I—" But her words caught in her throat as he reached forward to brush the skin of her cheek. Her heart hammered against her ribcage and the sound reverberated in her ears, mixing with the sound of the blood coursing through her veins. His gaze intensified. Could he hear it too?

"You're hurt," he said, thumb brushing over the bruise on her cheek. A shaky breath exited her mouth, face flushed as her heart raced at the touch.

"I-I-I-I fell," she stammered and felt her lids lower as his finger brushed over the tender flesh. It hurt—the twinges of pain were there—but it felt so good. He was touching her and it felt so good. Then he began speaking and the moment was broken.

"If something happened, you'd tell me, right?"

She looked him, startled. His brows were furrowed and his gaze focused on her and her alone. A rushing feeling bubbled inside her—was this excitement? But another feeling stood beside it as well and it was tugging at her heart strings. A tear escaped the corner of her eye.

"Y—"

His eyes widened and he leaned closer while she struggled with the word trying to fight its way out. She could feel it clawing its way up her throat. She wanted to tell him. She wanted to tell him so badly!

"Ye—"

It was closer—she could feel it sitting on the tip of her tongue. Tears stung her eyes. It hurt _so_ much.

"Sakura?"

She looked up, startled and found him looking at her pleadingly, but she simply smiled.

"Of course," she said with a smile. That smile. The smile she always wore when she wanted to lie and say she was alright. He seemed disappointed with her, but he let her exit the car and it was only when he was out of sight did she let it fall.

Resting on her porch, she hung her head as she panted heavily and tried to calm her heart. That was close. She came so close to telling him—she came so close to giving in, and the sensation of butterflies in her stomach mixed with the cold grip of fear.

-

-

Today, she had been tripped in the hall and skinned her knees. Today was no different that yesterday, or the day before, or even the week before. Today was like all the rest. Today was routine. Even the other students seemed to understand this.

8:30, she comes to school and the halls part like the Red Sea before Moses as she walks towards her first class of the day. The students laugh and point at her as she walks with her eyes to the floor, lifting them up to no one.

The followings passing periods follow the same mold and at PE, she is told to retrieve any and all balls that fly out of the field. She follows her instructions until the end of PE. In the locker room, she will find tacks in her shoes or find her shoes missing or sewing needles in her clothing and after changing, goes to lunch.

At lunch, she will sit by herself under a tree or in a classroom eating a sandwich from home. If she's under the tree, she will watch the clouds roll across the sky and on occasion, wave to Tenten and Hinata with a friendly hello. If she's inside a classroom, she will do errands for the teacher, Kakashi-sensei more often than not.

After school, she sometimes does errands for Kakashi-sensei or Shizune-san and when she goes to her locker, the girls grab her and she is led outside for her "punishment." This happens regardless of her errand running or not. On the days she doesn't do errands, she is led by the people planning on abusing her that day to a secluded area to wait until everyone has left before doing the deed.

After that, she stumbles out of the school towards the bus stop, battered, broken, bleeding, and waiting for him. He comes and asks her the same question because routine is comforting. Because it's safe.

She nods and he leans over the gear shift to open the door. She slides into the car without a word and shivers before he drapes a towel over her shoulder and she starts to feel warm. She'll lose herself in the moment, the safety and comfort he brings her without knowing and the lingering scent that defines him as him on the towel wrapped around her. She stays like that for a while, trying to prolong the moment because the car ride home is too short for her, but she knows she must and nods her head and he nods back and takes her home.

When they gets to her gate, he kills off the engine and they sit there in silence as the sound of the fan reaches their ears and hot air circulates in the car. He will look ahead and she will look ahead as well. He asks her the same question time and time again.

"If something happened, you'd tell me, right?"

And she smiles and says 'of course,' all the while, her heart is breaking in her chest because it hurts to lie to him.

He looks at her sadly, disappointment a shadow on his face and she tries to keep the smile on her face because it's making it harder to lie to him and she hopes her smile has not slipped to reveal the sadness lying underneath because it breaks her heart for him to look at her like that.

She'll slide out of the car, the towel lying on the seat where she just was and she'll walk up to her door. At the top of her walkway, she'll pull out her keys and place them in the lock. Turning the key, she'll nudge open the door and turn to wave a cheerful lie and he'll nod or wave back before driving off as she slips through the door and runs to her room to cry herself to sleep another night.

And that is the routine.

-

-

Sakura entered the classroom, inwardly flinching as conversations halted and all eyes went to her. Her cheeks flushed in slight embarrassment and she walked with her eyes glued to the tile floor beneath her as she walked to her seat. Placing her bag on her desk, she sat and leapt up immediately, knees smashing against the metal underside of her desk as she rubbed the injured area under her skirt and looked with disdain at the small thumbtack in her seat before flicking it off with a sigh as the class roared in laughter around her.

"Haruno, you okay?"

And just like that, the class fell silent once more, spines snapping straight as the teacher entered, casually leaning himself against the doorframe.

She hesitated and she felt eyes burn holes in her back before she nodded. Kakashi nodded in acceptance of the answer before dropping his suitcase on the table, removing his suit jacket, and leaning against the front edge of the table facing his students.

"Alright; Tsunade-san would like to know if you have any information on what's happening to Sakura-san here. Anyone?" When he heard no response, he lowered his head with an aggravated sigh and raked his hand through his hair in frustration. "Come on, people, this is a student. One of your friends—one of _you!_ Don't you care that someone is hurting her?!"

"Look who's talking," a voice at the back of the room scoffed. The class turned, all eyes on the speaker. Obsidian eyes glinted in the grey light outside the window, set in pale handsome features with raven hair and an arrogant smirk that caused women to stop and stare on the street. Who was this person? None other than school soccer star, Uchiha Sasuke.

Giggles and thinly veiled laughter erupted in the classroom as Sakura sunk in her seat, fighting hot tears that wanted to fall as Kakashi looked at him indecipherably. He let his head droop and the class waited with baited breath for his reaction.

"I'm sorry you feel that way, Uchiha-san. Detention for the next five weeks."

The class erupted into shouts and moans.

"You can't do that, sensei!" shouted a girl.

"Yeah! What about the city soccer tournament?! He's going to miss the qualifying games!" a boy moaned in despair.

"We can't win without him!" cried another girl.

"That's not my problem. Slander will not be allowed in my classroom," Kakashi answered, his stern tone effectively ending the argument. "Sasuke, I expect to see you in this classroom directly after school."

A mumble in the back of the room was heard.

"What did you say, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, daring him to add another insult. Sasuke grumbled in his chair once more before sighing.

"I said 'yes, sir.'"

Kakashi nodded, pleased with the answer when he heard snickering on the left side of the room.

"Uzumaki, you'll be joining him as well."

The boy looked up, blue eyes blinking widely. He was tall, about Sasuke's height with tanned skin, blonde hair, and whisker-like scars on his cheeks. If Sakura remembered correctly, Hinata had a crush on him.

He stood, hands slamming into his desk. "That's not fair, sensei! Why me?"

"Because I'm not in the mood to deal with these things right now and besides, it's not nice to laugh at another's misfortune, Naruto."

Naruto grumbled in his seat as the class murmured and Kakashi's motions on the chalkboard suddenly stilled. "Anyone else want detention?" he asked, the threat evident from the edge in his tone. Silence reached his ears and Kakashi let himself smile a bit as Sakura shrank further into her chair from the eyes boring into her back before sighing heavily and looking up to the board, ignoring the gazes.

She wasn't in the mood to deal with these things either.

-

-

"So have you heard from Ino yet?"

Sakura looked up at her companion, shocked. They stood in the middle of the hallway, a pile of papers in her hands as he held his briefcase and a cup of coffee from the café down the street (no longer trusting the coffee in the faculty lounge). She knew she was gaping, but she couldn't care. He asked about Ino. This whole time, she never thought he paid attention to what she told him about her friends the few times she actually conversed with him. To be honest, it was a pleasant surprise.

"No. I tried to call her once to talk, but when her mother told her it was me, she said she suddenly felt ill," Sakura said softly, a bitter note in her tone. Kakashi simply nodded and let the conversation drop and she was thankful for it. A smile crept on her face.

They started walking again, echoes of their footsteps sounding eerie in the deserted hallway. After seeing it day after day crammed with people, the sudden emptiness seemed surreal. Stopping at the door, Kakashi took out his keys, throwing them up and catching them deftly before opening the door and froze, an 'Eep!' escaping the lips of the girl beside him.

There, in the middle of the classroom atop two desks, were Naruto and Sasuke, arms wrapped around each other and clutching fabric in a frenzy of saliva and teeth.

"Well, this is a surprise."

The two parted, Naruto's eyes widening in horror and Sasuke gazed at the two intruders coolly as Sakura closed the door behind them, but they could see his eyes tinged with fear.

Kakashi placed his coffee on the table with his briefcase as Sakura hugged the papers to her chest as she stood by the door, not trusting her legs to carry her to the desk.

"My my, Uchiha Sasuke and Uzumaki Naruto—a couple? Don't you have a girlfriend at the moment, Sasuke?" Kakashi asked, dragging his gaze from the window to the two before him. Naruto climbed down from the desk.

"Please don't tell anyone, sensei! I told everyone I was straight and Sasuke-teme and I both would never be able to live it down!" he pleaded.

Kakashi turned to the window in thought and turned back to face them. "Alright…" he drawled and Naruto let out a huge sigh of relief.

"But it'll have to cost you."

"WHAT?!"

"That's extortion," Sasuke glared. Kakashi shifted his hands, resting them on the edge of the desk.

"Oh please, I don't want your money, Sasuke, and you're in no place to argue. Not if you want your secret kept."

Sasuke mustered up the most vicious glare he could and Sakura felt her blood run cold, but the silver-haired man seemed unaffected. In fact, he seemed faintly amused. Sasuke sighed heavily.

"What do you want?"

"What _do_ I want?" Kakashi asked, tapping his chin with his finger, the sound grating on the Naruto and Sasuke's ears and sending their hearts racing. What would he ask them to do?

"I want you…to protect Sakura."

"Nani?" The three teens exclaimed and Sakura flinched as the papers fell from her fingers. The three males watched as she picked them up and mumbled under her breath.

"You want us…to protect her?" Naruto asked, watching as the girl fumbled with the papers on the ground.

Kakashi nodded. "Yes. After all, Tsunade is worried for her well-being and the well-beings of the other students. My idea is, you guys make sure she doesn't get hurt and I don't tell."

"Promise?" Naruto asked.

"Swear on my grave."

Sasuke sent him a skeptical glance. "What about her?"

Kakashi blinked. "Oh, Sakura?" He turned. "You won't tell anyone, right Sakura?"

She looked the three wide-eyed, a blush staining her cheeks at suddenly becoming the center of attention. Noticing them staring at her, she realized they wanted an answer.

"O-oh! N-n-no! Of course not!" Sakura stammered as she stood, papers stacked neatly in a pile and held against her chest. The answer seemed to placate the Uchiha male because he nodded in approval and Sakura flushed further at garnering the attention of the resident school heartthrob. Suddenly, she felt an arm slung around her shoulder and turned to see Naruto grinning foxily at her.

"Hey Sakura-chan, meet your new bodyguards!"

"Dobe."

"Shut up, teme!" the blonde retorted hotly. Sasuke merely scoffed. "This is your fault, dobe. Can't keep your hands to yourself," he said grabbed his bag, and left the room as Naruto spluttered.

"Did he just—I—He—Argh! I'm not done with you, Uchiha!" Naruto shouted as he grabbed his bag and ran out after him. Kakashi and Sakura stood in the room staring at the now-vacant areas of the room, still confused at the events that had just played out and looked to each other before bursting into small fits of laughter.

They were certainly an odd couple.

-

-

In the days that followed, it seemed something was beginning to form between the three. During school hours, they acted like complete strangers, but it was during the breaks that you might catch something. A greeting, a wave of goodbye, a smirk or smile here or there, but that was about it. And that was something he was happy about. For the past two weeks, he hadn't had to try and force the answer out of her to do something. The opportunity to protect her had fallen right into his lap.

'_I should've tried extortion months ago,'_ he thought to himself, a smile playing on his lips as he graded papers in his class.

But nothing came without a price.

He was beginning to see her less and less. It was supposed to be a good thing, but it wasn't. The only time he saw her was during his class and after school.

And he hated it.

It seemed his body had gotten used to her extended hours in his presence. The errands, the car rides, the questioning—all the menial things they did together, he began to crave as much as he craved her. The less and less he saw her, the worse the dreams got.

'_And they were bad enough already,' _he thought as he rubbed the bags under his eyes. God, he needed a vacation, a hobby—anything! Anything to get her off his mind for good. Hoping his work to distract him, he looked down, red pen in hand, only to find her name.

"I need some air."

Capping his pen, he walked out of the classroom and immediately regretted it. '_Kami, the giggling again?!'_ He should've never taken off his jacket, not if this was the outcome.

"Oh well, too late to go back now."

He walked through the hall, hands stuffed in his pockets as students passed him. Occasionally, he'd pull his hand out to greet a colleague before stuffing his hand into his pocket and resuming his slouched gait. Then, he spotted her.

"Sakura…"

She stood between Naruto and Sasuke as hushed whispers and screeches of 'No way! This is only a one-time thing, right?! Right?!' reached his ears. He drank her in, knowing that the more her reputation was repaired, the less he'd see her. He wanted to memorize her. Remember her as the only girl who made him feel utterly horrible and absolutely wonderful at the same time. This girl—no, this woman, made him care for someone other than himself. It sounded like crap, it sounded like something in a cheap corny romance novel and left a bad aftertaste in his mouth, but that was how he felt and he begrudgingly accepted it.

Watching her come closer, he stood by the wall to let the three pass, pretending to be as surprised as the others as Sasuke and Naruto walked, Sakura limping between them. The surprise became real.

'_She's limping?' _

Peering at her ankle, he saw her drag her right ankle behind her left leg as she walked. It was swollen too. How did they not notice that?

"I'm going to have to talk to her later…"

-

-

The first thing she noticed when she stepped into the classroom was the fact that no one was there.

"Hello?" Sakura asked, peering around the door. Still no one. "Hello?"

"Go away," came the muffled reply.

"Um…but you told me to come see you, Kakashi-sensei." Then, sharp, loud clattering sounds reached her ears and she flinched at the sound before running into the backroom. Dust stung her eyes and burned her throat and she covered her mouth with her sleeve. "Kakashi-sensei?"

"Ow…"

Waving away the dust cloud surrounding her, she looked adown and dropped to her knees. "Are you alright, sensei?"

"I don't know. Am I?" he asked as he lay on the floor. Papers and pens littered the area around him and he lay underneath a tangle of wire and thin metal pipes, a pencil jutted from his hair.

"I don't know either," she admitted.

"Then I'm probably not," he answered, smiling at the irony of his words. The whole reason he fell was because he had been daydreaming when she came in. Daydreaming about her, snapping when a voice tried to pull him away from it. She had been so close, feeling almost tangible to him that he didn't want it to end. He wanted to lose himself in his fantasies, where he was master of his body once more and he could finally have her the way he wanted so badly. To feel her underneath him, taste her purity, and be her first and ruin other men for her because no one could compare to him.

Because he would be her _only_.

A hand waved in front of his face—her hand—and images of his fantasy flashed before his eyes at what she could to him with her fingers—do to herself. A shudder ran up his spine.

"Sensei?"

"Can you help me get the pipes off?" he asked, wheezing slightly. This wasn't good. He'd played in his fantasies too long. He had to get his control back. Using the time it took for her to remove the pipes from his body, he attempted to calm himself, trying to regain some measure of sanity to tell himself to not think of her like that, but her body was so close to his. He could smell the jasmine on her skin and wondered if it was soap or lotion that she used.

Another image, another scenario.

_Water dripped down his back, ragged breathing echoing in the small shower stall as he pressed himself closer and cursed softly as her nipples grazed his skin. Her head fell back at the sensation and his name fell off her lips in a mantra as his hands slowly crept up her sides._

A shaking of his shoulder and he shook his head slightly to clear the fog from his eyes and looked up. "Hm?"

Sakura let out a sigh of relief. "I thought I would've had to get an ambulance when you weren't responding to me."

"Oh, sorry," he said as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, "I got lost in my thoughts."

"Anything you want to talk about?"

He shook his head and Sakura seemed to deflate a little before pointing wildly at him. "Y-y-you—You--!"

"I'm what?" he asked in alarm, hoping that it wasn't what he feared. That his dreams had affected worse than he thought and she realized what a sick pervert he was for wanting her that way. For wanting to screw her, fuck her until she came violently and all that she could think of was him—for just wanting _her_.

He felt his heart plummet and his throat close tight in fear. His Adam's apple bobbed and he lowered his head in shame as he waited for judgment.

"You're bleeding!"

"Huh?" Kakashi looked down, watching as a thin red line formed on his finger. He wanted to laugh. This was what she was worried about?

"It's just a cut, Sakura," he chuckled, clutching his stomach as tears stung his eyes. He felt like laughing, crying, and dropping to his knees and thanking someone for this, but a part of him resented him for such behavior. He wanted a sixteen-yr-old-girl for Kami's sake and he was_ happy_ he got to stay near her? He should be disgusted with himself. Part of him was. A shudder ran down his spine.

Kami, what was wrong with him?

"That cut can still get infected, especially with Kami-knows-what in this room! Come on, I'll get a band-aid," she said as she pulled him towards the classroom and sat him down in his chair. He watched her moving about, running from one end of the class to the other. She suddenly stopped by the shelves under the window and bent down at the waist to retrieve the first-aid kit and nearly choked on his saliva as she flashed him a peak of her panties and the pale skin of her flat stomach.

Biting back a groan, he let his head fall back as he remembered just how long it had been since he had someone. It had been months since he last had a woman, but it wasn't that there had been a shortage of invites; it was because he wouldn't let himself. He couldn't let himself risk it. If he called out Sakura's name during his climax, his partner would get suspicious, especially since Anko provided a large percentage of his invites.

She walked back to his desk, oblivious of what she just did to him and set the metal box on the tabletop and removed the medical supplies. She leaned forward and held his hand as she dabbed his finger with alcohol and he muttered curses under his breath. Damn her. Damn her and her naivety. Damn her for turning him into this. For making him feel like heaven and hell all in one moment. For making him _feel._

"There. Done," she said as she smiled at him. Curse her smiles. Why did she have to be so sincere? Cynicism, he could've dealt with, but such sincerity was foreign to him. It made him warm, made him…_happy_, made him want her more and he hated it.

Slim fingers wrapped around his hands and brought them to her lips and he inhaled sharper than he had meant to as tingles traveled up and down his arm and shivers racked his spine.

He stared at his finger as she pulled it away from her mouth, lips shining in the grey light filtering in from the window. The soft touch entranced him and made his fantasies run wild. How would they feel on another part of his anatomy? Would her touches be just as innocent and naïve as that kiss? Would they taste as sweet as he imagined?

"…Why did you do that?" he asked as he turned his finger around for inspection. She did well. She should become a nurse or a doctor. She certainly had the compassion for it.

"A kiss to make it better! Don't you know anything, sensei?" she teased as she closed the kit and smiled at his scowl. She felt her sleeve slipping and pulled it back up. "What did you want to talk about, sensei?" she said cheerfully.

"Your injuries."

She laughed and he heard the tinge of nervousness in her voice. "What are you talking about?"

"This," he said yanking her sleeve down, revealing the dark bruises on her forearm. "This is what I'm talking about."

She pulled her arm away, tugging her sleeve back into its rightful position. "How did you know?" she asked quietly.

"You were limping in the hall," he answered. Was that a hint of regret she heard in his voice?

"…how did this happen?"

"I fell in the bathroom," she mumbled. He looked at her for a minute before he chuckled and rested his forearms on the table as he leaned towards her. "Why do you insist on playing games with me?" he asked, a sinister tone shadowing his voice.

"I have no idea what you're talking about."

He chuckled again. Did she enjoy doing this to him? Making him beg for answers?

"You know exactly what I'm talking about," he hissed.

"No, I don't.

"Sakura, I know two weeks is a long time, but you can't have forgotten our conversations so soon. Not after we've been having them for the better part of a year now," he said standing before the chalkboard. He turned to face her. "I won't beg for answers," he glared. She mustered up a glare of her own.

"I'm not asking you to beg," she spat.

"Then tell me. We both know something is going on, but I can't do anything without you telling me to my face. It's a stupid rule, but I need you to tell me. I don't want to have to see you get killed!"

"Then ignore it. You can't do anything!" she shouted, tears stinging her eyes as she slammed her palms on his desk.

"So you admit that something is happening."

"If that's what you want to believe." She wouldn't meet his eyes.

"Stop playing games with me, Haruno." And she flinched at the grip he had on her shoulders. "It's a simple answer. Yes or no."

"Even if I say yes, you can't do anything about it. You've given me two bodyguards and they still can't do anything," she said with a laugh.

"Then how is this happening?!"

When she turned her eyes away from him, he let her go and walked to the corner, raking a hand through his hair and sighing tiredly. Kami, this was wearing him thin.

He glanced over his shoulder and saw her staring at the floor. Her mask was cracking. She wasn't doing too well either. Another sigh.

"I need you to tell me, Sakura. If you don't tell me, I can't help you."

"Even if I tell you, there's nothing you'll be able to do. You, Naruto, or Sasuke," she said bitterly.

"Why not?"

"Men can't go into the girl's restrooms," she said with a laugh and a bitter smile and he felt his heart drop. They were getting her in the restroom now?

"Away from prying eyes and where we can't help you…" Those girls were smarter than he gave them credit for. To have figured out his plan so quickly…

"How long?"

"A week now," she answered.

"What are you planning to do?"

"I don't know."

"Haruno…"

"Well, what can I do? If I try and bring another girl in with me, they're either going to side with them or get hurt. I can't let someone else get hurt on my account. I wouldn't be able to live with that!"

"We aren't playing some school game, Haruno."

"Who said we were?!"

They were both panting heavily now, no more than two inches apart with his hands grabbing her arms and her hands fisted in the front of his shirt. Their faces were flushed and chests heaved up and down with each breath they took. He watched her breathe, watched her stare at him with wonder as their breaths mingled. Her lashes fluttered and he could just barely feel them on his cheeks, butterfly kisses.

He could feel her drag her gaze over him as he gripped her arms. He shouldn't be this close to her. He shouldn't feel like taking her right there in the classroom, regardless of who could find them. It shouldn't feel this good to be near her—the air shouldn't have been this sweet—she shouldn't be so intoxicating. So many things were not the way they should be!

He tore his gaze away. He had to look at something other than her—anything while he tried to get himself under control. If not, he knew…he knew that if either of them moved, he wouldn't be able to stop himself.

He rested his head on her shoulder, her breathing hot against the shell of his ear. He tried to quell a shudder, failing as the delicious feeling thrilled his senses. He shouldn't have let himself do this--shouldn't have touched her, but she was so close…so _real_.

Movement caught his eye and he steeled himself before lifting his head to see what it was just in time to see her tongue lick her lips before slipping back into its hiding place. His body shook with tension and an audible groan left his mouth before he crushed his lips to hers in a culmination of gnashing teeth and unbridled need. She seemed to understand it too because she responded, hands burying themselves in his hair and she moaned into the bruising kiss.

She had no idea what she was doing. He knew that for a fact, could taste it in every shiver and shudder that shot through her body as he cradled her head and crushed him against her. The thought pleased him, sent pleasure to the tips of his toes. He could teach her, show her pleasure's extremes and she'd be willing to learn, eager to please and he hummed at those prospects.

Fingers tugged insistently at his mask and he let her pull away the fabric, but gave her no time to look as he pressed his lips against hers once more. She moaned and the sound piqued his senses.

Retreating slightly, he let his lips part, licking her bottom lip for entrance. He felt her hesitate and growled impatiently. He needed fast and he needed her to cooperate before he lost his mind. Nipping her lower lip, he entered on her gasp and plundered her mouth, a deep groan tearing from his lips. It was better than anything he had ever imagined.

Fire. That was the only way he could describe the feeling that shot through his system. It felt so good, so right. This felt right. She felt right and she tasted like everything she thought she would, but _better_.

Dancing his tongue around hers, he felt her respond, quickly learning what to do before a struggle for dominance ensued and he was sure that nothing could compare to this.

He let her explore his mouth and lost himself in the heady feeling of the kiss. Moans were heard from both sides. The kiss was addictive, each other, intoxicating; but he needed_ more_.

They pulled away, both panting heavily as oxygen entered their system once more. His bare cheek brushed against hers and she shuddered against him, the feeling sending shivers up his own spine and fueling his need. He kissed her once more, the touch chaste before moving on to the corner of her lips, her jaw, and lower, listening to her sighs of pleasure and her cry as he sucked on where her pulse raced.

"Sensei!"

And that word was all it took to have the illusion shatter. Sensei. He was her sensei. He was her sensei! God, what the hell was wrong with him?!

Quickly, he disentangled himself from her, pushing himself away to survey the damage. Her hair was pulled from the neat bun she had before, pins littering the floor and pink tendrils cascading down her neck. Her clothes were crumpled and lips swollen from his attention. God, what kind of man was he?

He had to run. He had to get away from this. Get away from her. Heart racing wildly, he salvaged whatever was left of his shattered control and ran out the door.

And he stood in the space between his classroom and the math teacher next door, heart thudding in his chest. From here, he could hear labored breathing and could imagine how she would look. So confused, so lost from the events that just occurred and he wanted to run in there to apologize, to comfort her, tell her that everything was fine.

But it wasn't fine. He had screwed that up ever since he started imagining her in his sick fantasies. Guilt gnawed at him from the inside. He felt horrible, lower than dirt. What gave him the right to even_ think_ he had the right to comfort her after all he's done?

Sliding down the wall, he landed on the tile floor and bent his legs before him as he stared at his shaking hands. He could still feel her, still feel the fire she had started inside him and it scared him. It scared him to think she could do this to him so easily. Ignite feelings in him so strong, that he would lose himself and throw caution to the wind.

Thinking back on it now, he remembered having thoughts of showing her more. Tearing away her last vestige of her innocence in that classroom because it would feel so good for both of them—because he could finally feel her and marvel at the sensations he knew she could give him. Marvel in the fact that he would be her first and it would be him she would think about when she pleasured herself at night.

Disgust churned in his stomach. God, he had already stolen her first kiss, but he wanted more? What was wrong with him? He shouldn't be thinking this way!

And he could imagine the look of hurt on her face once she realized what he had done to her, what he was planning on doing to her—that he betrayed her trust.

His heart twisted in his chest and he slammed his fist into the door to try and vent the frustration he felt. Slowly, he let his hand fall and raked his hand through his hair as tears stung his eyes and he rested his head against the wall.

"What have I done?"


	3. Sin

It's the third chapter. After the last chapter, I've been a bit disheartened. This really wasn't meant to be more than an oneshot, but I realize that the ending leaves you wanting more, but I haven't been able to do much. I forced myself last time and I'm kicking myself for it. To quote Aya from Kare Kano:

"_There's something wrong! There's supposed to be a moment when the characters, the setting, the story, my pencil, and my own tension all mesh together! When that happens, my writing just flows! But it's just not happening, and all I can do is stop and wait until it does! That's the problem!"_

That being said, the tension finally flowed late last month. You've all been patient for this chapter, so as a reward, there is a lemon scene here. (Aren't you glad you waited now?) It's graphic and long (the chapter is 27 pages) because of the circumstances, so if it's not your cup of tea, you can skip it. Next chapter is the dramatic conclusion of Temptation!

Note: There are discriminating remarks in this chapter. Before I get flamed, they do not reflect the thoughts and feelings of the author. That would be hypocritical of me as a person who is bisexual and I _hate_ hypocrites and double-standards.

Final update: August 9th.

* * *

Sakura blossoms floated down gently from their boughs, the flowers reaching towards the sky as people stepped into the school building below. It was April, and the school was filled with talk of this year's hanami season, the air light and refreshing as spring weaved into every crevice it could find. It could be found in the students as well.

"Sakura-chan!"

Said girl turned her head, pink hair brushing against her back as she looked at the brown-haired girl coming towards her. An uneasy smile made its way upon her face as more girls arrived.

"Sakura-san, I wanted—"

"Hey Sakura, come with me to the movies!"

"No! You should come karaoke with us!"

"No! Let's go to the mall!"

"Hey Sakura!"

And she backed away slowly from the growing group of girls, her nervousness growing more apparent with every pulse the mass of females gave as they edged towards her with proposals of a get-together. Honestly, it shouldn't have surprised her. This had been happening ever since she became friends with them. Especially…

"Hey."

And the eyes turned, every orb locked on the boy standing coolly in the halls, a small breeze catching small tendrils of raven hair and floating them on the wind as obsidian eyes stared out of a porcelain face. He placed his book at his side.

"Any trouble here?"

"N-no, Sasuke," Sakura stuttered from her place in the hallway. Out of the corner of her eye, she realized a crowd had appeared, surrounding them with baited breath as if waiting for something, but for what, she didn't know.

Her heartbeat was audible in her ears, body tense as it waited for something—a sign, a signal—anything to know what to do next. Footsteps echoed loudly in the hall.

"Sakura-chan! Sakura-chan!"

And the eyes turned, honing in on the young blonde-haired boy that dared to interrupt, but he moved on as if oblivious to it all and slung his arm around his two friends. "Sakura-chan, what are you doing in the hall? You too, teme. Shouldn't you guys be in class? I was actually earlier than you guys today and…"

He continued to talk, rambling incessant nothings before looking around as if just noticing the crowd, and leaned down to Sakura's ear. "Sakura-chan, what are all these people doing here? Did something happen?"

She opened her mouth, watching as the on-lookers froze from the corners of her eye. Some people looked at her with pleading eyes. Other looked at her through narrow slits and she felt a familiar fear coil itself around her, writhing inside her body as memories appeared and sensations of her stomach being kicked in were renewed. Suddenly, telling her mother this morning that she was fine was starting to feel like a lie once more.

Lips moved as a voice filtered through, the beginnings of words struggling through the stark emptiness of her mind to find purchase in the open air. Naruto and Sasuke looked at her expectantly; so did the crowd staring back at her, but before she could speak, a voice rang sharply through the tense air.

"What are you all doing here? Shouldn't you be in class?" Kakashi snapped as he stepped down the small flight of stairs in the hallway. The crowd parted before him as he strode, a commanding air around him as he glared at the shocked students. "Well?"

Voices erupted, the various words and sentences of excuses reverberating off the high ceilings, and as suddenly as they appeared, the crowd was gone. Sakura breathed a sigh of relief.

"Don't get too comfortable, Haruno. Shouldn't you be getting to class as well?" And despite his remanding tone, she smiled gently at him.

"Arigatou, Kakashi-sensei." And with the same smile, she bowed her head and disappeared around a corner, the heels of her shoes clacking loudly in the empty halls.

* * *

Sakura blossoms drifted slowly onto the grassy knoll behind the school, light shades of pink and pristine white twirling in the breezes brought upon by the blue sky before landing onto the sharp blades of grass. The smell of spring swam fragrantly in the air and a contented sigh echoed in the quiet openness. It was peaceful here.

"Sasuke-teme!"

And the raven-haired boy looked up just in time to see a blob of yellow before letting out a yelp as the yellow blob landed on his stomach.

"Dobe! What the fuck are you trying to do? Kill me?! And get the hell off! You're heavy," he said scowling as he shoved off the laughing blonde. Naruto clutched his stomach.

"You should've seen your face! It was hilarious! You looked like you were gonna—ow!" Naruto yelped as he felt a hand collide with the back of his head. He glared. "What the hell did you do that for?"

Sasuke merely shook out his hand. "Hn. You started it, dobe."

Naruto growled, shoulders tensing as he readied to pounce. "Why you—" And suddenly, they heard it. The faint sound of laughing and looked up at the top of the hill. Naruto grinned.

"Sakura-chan!" he shouted scrambling up the knoll, kicking up grass in his wake before tackling her with a bear hug. She chuckled slightly. "Nice to see you too, Naruto. Hi Sasuke."

"Hn," he said with a nod before moving aside his hand as a motion to sit. She nodded back and went to sit beside him, Sasuke on her left, a smiling Naruto on her right, and the warm sun on their backs.

* * *

"_Why do you like him so much?"_

Sakura looked up, startled as her eyes blinked owlishly. "I'm sorry?"

"Why do you like Kakashi-sensei so much?" Naruto repeated as he sat up, watching his raven-haired counterpart do the same. Apparently he was as interested in her answer as he was. Sakura opened her mouth to speak.

"I…I…" And she bit her lip as she searched the recesses of her mind for the answer. Why did she like him?

"I don't know," she admitted softly.

"What are you talking about, Sakura-chan?! There has to be some reason you like him!"

But there wasn't a reason, she realized. It wasn't something that had a reason behind it. If she said anything, they'd be qualities she liked about him, but not reasons. There wasn't a real reason behind her feelings, but...

"There was…there was this one time…" she began as the memory became clear to her. It was her freshman year and her first day at school. She remembered staring out over dozens of strange faces, unfamiliar classrooms, and an endless maze of hallways as her mind spun around her. People shoved past her, eyes trained on a point in the future as she gazed around with uncertainty. She had no idea what to do or where to go so she hugged her books to her chest, praying to survive the day as she felt elbows and book bags dig into her sides and scrape her skin. Suddenly, she was propelled forward.

"Ahh!" she yelped as she pitched forward into the halls. No one took notice of her as she sat on the tiled floor, looking up to find people who were rushing to their first class of the new school year; people too busy for her. For some reason, the idea made her want to cry and tears began to prick her eyes as her textbooks lay scattered on the floor. Suddenly, she was face to face with the pastel pink cover of her math notebook.

"I believe this is yours," a voice said and she looked up to a silver-haired man with a kind look in his eyes. She blinked at him and realizing that neither of them had moved, she took her book back from him. "Thank you," she said quietly. The man nodded and helped her scoop up the rest of her books before gracefully lifting her from the floor.

"You're a freshman, aren't you?" he asked as he handed her back her textbook. She nodded hesitantly at him and he gave her a pleasant smile. "Well, I'm Hatake Kakashi. I'm the English 1A teacher. Would you like some help getting to your next class?" At his smile, she felt her heart flutter slightly as she felt herself becoming more and more drawn to him and his kind smiles.

"Yes please," she replied in a slightly surer tone than before as she held out a quavering piece of paper. He took no mind of her nervousness and gave her a reassuring smile that placated her shivering body and soothed her fears. Her heart thudded slightly in her ears.

"Ninomiya-san's classroom is down that hallway and the second classroom on your right. Would you like me to walk you there?" he asked and when he turned his head to her, she tensed, straightening her back as she noticed the immense difference in the height. She only reached his shoulder.

Sakura shook her head. "No. I'll be fine," she whispered quietly and she watched as he smiled and nodded his head politely before turning his back to her and strolling down the hall away from her.

Lips quivered as her body was wracked with shivers. Electricity ran up and down her spine and her hands wrung nervously over the awkward twisting in her heart. He was even farther away from her than she thought he would be in the short time he was away, but maybe that was her mind just warping time and making exaggerations to suit her own needs. In her mind's absence, a knot had formed in her throat and her hands gripped tighter together as he continued to walk farther and farther away from her, each step causing the suddenly unwanted distance to expand between them while the echo of his footsteps sought to drive her mad.

"Thank you!"

And she watched him freeze in place as the echoes of her voice reverberated off the windows and high ceiling. When he turned his head, her hands flew without thinking to her mouth and she felt heat greet her fingertips. She was blushing madly and she chanced a glance upwards to see he was staring at her, just as stunned at her outburst as she was. Looking up again, she realized that he was still staring at her and the thought of remaining under his piercing gaze any longer suddenly frightened her, made her embarrassment move aside for the cold lance of fear that ran down her spine. With a hurried apology, she ran down the hall, heartbeat in her head and a sudden nervous flutter in her chest. The same nervous flutter she had in her chest now. Naruto shook her shoulder.

"You okay, Sakura-chan?"

Sakura shook her head. "Yeah," she said, voice still dazed as she pulled herself from her reverie. "I'm sorry."

"It's okay. I was just afraid I hurt your feelings by asking you why you like baka-sensei."

"Baka-sensei?" she asked experimentally. Naruto nodded eagerly at his nickname for their teacher.

"Yeah. I mean…Sakura, no offense, but Kakashi-sensei is a jerk. What you see in him, I have no idea."

At this, a small giggle escaped Sakura's lips. She hadn't a clue herself. "Well, in freshman year, he helped me get to my first class. I don't why I like him, but it's just…Kakashi is…I don't know how to explain it. He's good-looking and all, but there's just something about him. I can't—"

And she felt a large hand on her shoulder and looked back to see Sasuke with a serene smile on his face. "We get it," he said, the slight lilt in his voice teasing. Sakura blinked. "You do?"

"Of course, Sakura-chan. We're your friends, right?" Naruto shouted boisterously as he plopped down into the grass, an arm hanging off Sakura's shoulder. Sasuke shifted to lounge in the grass beside her. "Besides, we're the same way."

"You are?" she questioned and Naruto nodded eagerly before pressing his thumb against his chest.

"Of course! I mean, looking at just me and teme and the way we fight, you'd never expect that we like each other, but it's just the way it is. As cliché as it sounds, we are sort of meant for each other. We compliment each other's qualities. Right, teme?" Sasuke merely nodded in reply and Sakura found herself smiling warmly at the three of them in this moment. "Thanks guys."

"No problem, Sakura-chan."

"Hn. What he said."

And they sat in the grass, cool breeze on their skin with the sun on their backs and sakura petals drifting gently to the ground around them, unaware of the eyes staring at them from the shadows.

* * *

Stars glimmered from their strongholds in the sky as the bark of a stray dog echoed in the empty streets. It was May and summer was being to infiltrate the air with stifling humidity and heat, but the nights were different. Stars dotted the sky as if painted on an infinite canvas spanning to unknown horizons and it was warm enough to sleep outside to enjoy the view of such celestial bodies as the wind caressed your cheek.

A car slowed to a stop at an intersection, the sound of gravel crushing into the cement echoing into the streets. It was late and the orange glow of streetlights dotted the dark pavement surrounding them. The shutters were closed and the residential neighborhood was deserted save for the two people sitting in the car.

"Thanks for driving me home so late, Naruto."

"No problem, Sakura-chan," he said with a toothy grin as he turned his head towards her. His wrist reclined on the steering wheel and his expression was playfully cocky. With his black jacket on; he looked like a movie star, especially seeing how he was driving a sports car. A giggle escaped her lips.

"What's so funny?"

"Oh nothing," she said as she placed her arm back at her sides before looking out at the concrete spread out before her eyes. Their town had once been nothing but a sparse collection of houses in a forest, but it was now a forest of skyscrapers built upon a sea of concrete. Even if they had managed to maintain their relationship with nature with trees on almost every sidewalk, she had to wonder what it was like to live back then, listening to the sounds of the forest. It must have been amazing at night and she quickly lost herself in a fantasy of being caught in the rain in such a place. A voice jarred her from it.

"Sakura? Sakura?!"

"Sorry Naruto-kun, I spaced out a bit," she said with a guilty smile. She hadn't wanted to leave her fantasy. It had been so real that she actually smelled the fresh scent of rain mingling with the earthiness of the forest. She turned her eyes to Naruto as something dawned on her.

"Naruto, I just realized I've never thanked you for helping me, so thank you," she said as she folded her hands in her lap and bowed as deeply as her seatbelt would allow. A chuckle caused her to look up.

"Sakura, it's no problem. After all, I—"

Gunshots echoed in the empty streets and to his right, he felt something slice across his cheek. Realizing that it was glass from the side mirror, he raised his arms to shield himself from the flying fragments as the clatter of footsteps followed the shots. Sakura turned worriedly to Naruto.

"Naruto, what's going on?"

"I don't know. I—"

Another gunshot, this time the bullet crossed just between them.

"That's it. I'm getting us out of here." Grabbing the steering wheel, he glanced up to see a figure in the shadows from his rear view mirror. Another gunshot and the figure stepped into the glow of a streetlight. His eyes narrowed as they focused.

"I know that uniform…"

"What?"

"Sakura, get out of here!"

"What?! No! I can't do that, Naruto! What about—" And then she caught sight of the hands snaking through the open window of the car. Arms coiled around him and he struggled to shake them off as more and more hands reached in, gripping his arms and neck through the window. A finger reached into his mouth, trying to force his head out of the car and he bit down, a feminine shriek escaping into the night air as he spat out the offending taste of blood and perfume from his mouth.

"Sakura, get out of here!" he screamed and she watched him struggled with the hands crawling through the window once more, blood now smeared across his skin as the girl he had bitten sought revenge. A hand gripped his chin and he turned away from it, eyes pleading desperately for Sakura to leave while she still could.

"I can handle it!"

A gunshot rang out in the air and girls were surrounding the car. Sakura looked to him, unsure. How could he take on all these girls alone? Suddenly she was jerked forward roughly, wincing at the grisly thud and the shadowed figure that passed over the dashboard window. From the corner of her eye, they were a few feet from where they were before and the girls that been surrounding the car on her side backed away.

"Go!"

And she was suddenly pushed from the car. Her fingers caught the door handle and she tumbled onto the concrete. She wasn't hurt, but for some reason she was crying. In the back of her mind, she heard Naruto screaming for her to run and she pushed herself to her feet. Wild screams could be heard around her, but they all sounded muffled. Everything began to sound muffled as soon as she started falling from the car.

She could hear footsteps now. Footsteps not her own as they clattered and echoed out of sync. Shadows ghosted over buildings and looking around, she realized that none of the lights were on. Gunshots could be heard in the street and Naruto's car horn blared loudly from the corner. Anyone could tell that someone was in trouble, but no one was going to help them, or rather…no one cared to.

Another shot was fired, the loud cracking sound as the bullet left the barrel echoing in the streets around her. Suddenly, everything became clear again and the sounds of footsteps were louder than they had been before. Something grazed her arm and she hissed as it burned her skin. She could feel blood running down her arm and hear the hooting and jeering of the girls running behind her. More gunshots and the footsteps behind her stopped as the girls shouted remarks that that was what she got for being a whore and that her fag friend was getting what he deserved. Sakura merely closed her eyes and continued running. Her eyes shut; she could hear the faint echo of something falling to the floor under the sound of the thudding heartbeat in her ears. Her throat was starting to burn from running so much, but she pressed on, sweat pouring down her face as blood soaked her shirt and Naruto's car horn faded into the distance.

* * *

Shoes splashed in puddles as she slowed down, looking around hazily at buildings she didn't remember running to. Suddenly, she realized she was soaking wet. When had it started raining?

Focusing her mind, she peered out at the neighboring street corners bathed in the streetlights before looking around. Raindrops continued to soak her skin and blood was still pouring down her arm. Turning her head up, she could see the outlines of the raindrops, watching them cling to the power lines above her head. Idly, she realized that she had been here before to deliver something.

"Kakashi…"

And she darted into the apartment complex, footsteps echoing around her as she went up the stairs before reaching his door. "Kakashi! Kakashi!" she screamed. She heard footsteps coming from the stairwell she had just left and her eyes widened with fear. Had they come back? Had they followed her? Her fists pounded against the door frantically, hoping he would hear her. "Kakashi!" The door opened.

"You idiot, what do you…Sakura?" he asked bleary-eyed into the hallway. He had just gone to bed when he was woken up by the racket. As he climbed out of bed, cursing softly under his breath for losing the first night of real sleep he'd had in months, he vowed to gut the person who woke him up, but as he stared at the girl standing soaked to the bone outside his doorstep, he felt not anger, but confusion and worry.

"Sakura, what are you doing here? It's almost 1:30 in the morning," he said with a yawn. From under his lashes, he could see her look up at him, startled, watching her eyes flicker between him and the stairway to her right when his eye caught something on her sleeve.

"You're bleeding," he whispered and she jumped at his words before turning to her sleeve. Moving her fingers, she held the torn fabric and pulled it away, watching as a small wound on her arm wept blood. He pulled her hand away.

"You're aggravating it. Come inside," he said stepping away from his doorstep and hesitantly, she entered, staying just within the entryway, and closed the door behind her. Looking up, she watched him move towards what she guessed was his bathroom.

His apartment was smaller than what she thought it would be. It was cluttered, so maybe that's why it seemed smaller. Everywhere she looked, there were folders full of paper. On the tables, jammed into bookshelves, even by the shoe rack where she stood. There were clothes too, strewn on the backs of chairs, but they were mostly jackets. His kitchen was connected to his dining room and that was connected to a study room, and at the far right by what she assumed to be a hall closet was the bedroom. A voice called out from there.

"You're still standing there?"

And she looked up to see him walking towards her. Strangely, it didn't seem to fit him, the idea of just walking. The energy didn't match the idea. When he walked, it wasn't just walking. He commanded the room without trying and the energy that radiated off him was of someone who knew what he wanted and took it. With the subtle shifting of the muscles in his back, he seemed more of a predator than a man. A hand touched her cheek.

"You're cold," he stated and she flinched at the difference in temperatures. She hadn't even realized she had been freezing until he touched her, but something lanced through her when he did, so now she felt hot and cold at the same time. Shouldn't it have evened out to warm, she wondered.

"Sakura!"

And she looked up with a shake of her head. She had spaced out again and looking up into his eyes, she could see the tinges of worry in them, but that was probably just wishful thinking.

"Yes?"

"What happened to you?" he asked softly as he felt light flash over his skin and heard the roar of thunder. The storm was beginning to worsen, he realized as he surveyed her injuries. From what he could see, nothing was wrong with her but the cut on her arm. She began talking.

"Well, I had stayed late at the school to do some copying for Kurenai-sensei and then Gai-sensei and Lee-san came and they started talking and then Gai-sensei asked if I could help Lee run a couple of errands for him and I said sure and I started helping Lee and before I knew it, it was already midnight. I had already called my mom saying I was doing things at school and I would be home late, so she knew where I was, but I didn't have a ride home, so I called…oh my god! Naruto!"

"Naruto?" Kakashi asked, watching as Sakura began drawing away from him. Her hands moved to cradle her head, her body slightly trembling as she stared disbelievingly at nothing. Her hands stopped a few inches from her face. "I left him all alone…"

"Left who all alone? Naruto?"

"He told me. Some girls from our school came and they began to swarm the car. They were trying to pull Naruto out and he told me to run, but I wouldn't move and more girls came and he shoved me out of the car. He kept telling me to run and then there were more gunshots and I started to run and…and…I left Naruto alone out there! Oh god, what if those gunshots I heard…oh no, Naruto!"

And she began running towards the door, wincing slightly as the lightening streaked across the sky leaving white lights to flicker on her back. How could she do that? How could she leave Naruto behind?! He was her best friend! How could she do something as heartless as leave him behind? Even if he had said for her to go save herself, she should've stayed behind to help him!

She reached forward, fingers just grazing the metal of the doorknob when she felt something enclose on her wrist as she was suddenly wrenched backwards. The thunder roared.

"Let go of me."

"No," Kakashi said firmly as he grabbed hold of her other wrist, gripping her firmly as she thrashed wildly against him. "Let me go!"

"No. Sakura, in case you haven't noticed, there's lightening outside. Even if we aren't in school anymore, you're still my student and I'm still legally responsible for your safety."

"Naruto's your student too, as well as my friend. If you think I'm just going to leave him out there to die, you're wrong," she hissed angrily as she glared at him. Inwardly, he wanted to laugh. So the girl thought she could intimidate him into submitting? He tightened his hold on her wrists and stared her down.

"And you're wrong if you think I'm actually going to let you go out there. I may have already lost one student. I'm not losing another one."

Suddenly, lights flashed across the sky and the sound of searing metal reached their ears. Sakura looked over his shoulder. "What was that?"

"It's a blackout," he said as he glanced at the small digital clock he kept by the entrance. Crossing the room, he looked out the window to see nothing but darkness. "Looks like it cut off the power to most of the city. Call your parents. You're staying here until I can get you home safely. I'll clean your wound after you're done."

And she nodded obediently before running to his phone, Kakashi walking towards his hall closet with a soft sigh.

* * *

Sakura sat quietly on Kakashi's bed as she waited for him to return. It was nearly two in the morning and outside was a world wrapped in slumber. It had stopped raining, but with the power still out, it wouldn't be safe to drive her home, especially with the roads slick with rain. On a whim, she brought her knees to her chest and pillowing her cheek on her knees, she stared out the window. The moon was out.

"I'm back."

And she looked up to face him as he entered. Her legs had changed position, now swung to her right side as she stared at him. Her face was in shadow and her vibrant green eyes were haunting. Bathed in the moonlight, she was a sight to behold.

Striding over to the bed, he sat down beside her, twisting and turning her limbs to see if he had missed anything. Though his touches were purely analytical, his mind couldn't help but warp this. He hadn't touched her in months and the feel of her hands on his was heaven and in the back of his mind, his hands were elsewhere as her hands explored him. Her touches would be hesitant and fleeting, her eyes full of wonderment and fear, and for a man as experienced as him, it would be sheer torture to wait until she was comfortable enough for him to make the next move.

He sighed, more at himself than to himself and handed her a towel and a shirt and a pair of shorts for her to change into. Her clothes were soaked and he could only imagine how long she had been in the rain.

"I'll leave so you can change," he said quietly as he slowly rose from the bed when he felt her hand hold him back. He let out a slight hiss. Her fingers were like ice.

"Don't…don't leave," she whispered and hearing the pleading tone in her voice, he stayed, ignoring the side of him waging war on his moral standards. She didn't want him to leave. She was afraid of being alone right now. What could he do but stay?

He kept his back to her, hands bracing his weight on the bed to keep him from slipping off the covers and onto the floor. He felt the bed dip as she moved further from the edge and heard the plastic casing of the first aid kit being scraped as she picked it up to move it away from her. At the sound, he closed his eyes, imagining her nails scraping skin instead of plastic as he drove into her heat and inwardly, he shivered at the sensation his mind offered him. Suddenly, the idea of staying was beginning to seem more and more like a bad idea after all.

The bed creaked slightly and he could hear her undoing the buttons of her school outfit. His fingers twitched. This seemed like one of his dirty fantasies come to life. She was undressing on his bed and all he had to do was glance over his shoulder and he'd see her, but he couldn't. She was his student and she was scared out of her mind. She had been attacked on her way home with a friend—a boy he had assigned to be her bodyguard—and he was possibly dead. Now wasn't a time for such thoughts. Now or ever.

A sigh was heard and he could feel his body tense. Even if he was trying to keep her pure, it didn't mean his resolve was made of steel. He hadn't had sex in months and just by being here, she was putting herself at risk. Screwing his eyes tighter together, he tried to block her from his mind, but then she dropped her shirt onto the bed. Feeling the fabric skate over his skin, he had just managed to stop a moan from escaping.

Minutes passed slowly as she continued to change into her new clothes, unaware of the agonizing torture of the man just a few inches away from. He felt horrible. He was lusting over a girl right in front of her, even if she had no clue of how he felt. If she did, she'd probably think it was because he actually had feelings for her and though it would give him what he wanted if he lied and said he did, he wouldn't. He'd never do that because the stupid girl had wormed herself into his heart to the point that he truly and wholeheartedly cared for her. The thought of caring for her sickened him, but it would've sickened him more if he hurt her.

"I'm done."

And he nodded to let her know he heard her before turning around on the bed. Moonlight filtered through the window and she sat staring at him with a look that wasn't quite expecting, but not quite questioning either. He sighed to himself. He was getting too technical.

Grabbing the first aid kit, he shifted so his legs hung over the side of the bed and faced her. Holding her wrist, he pushed up the sleeve of his shirt to reveal her milky skin. He could hear how her breathing hastened and knew how his touch affected her, but chose to ignore it. This was a purely platonic action. He was just bandaging her arm. Nothing more, nothing less.

He continued pushing up the shirt sleeve, moving it up the slight widening of her forearm and maneuvering it past the bend of her elbow. Only a few more inches and he'd be at the gash, but there was a problem.

"There's too much fabric," he stated, slightly dumbfounded as he stared at the bunched-up white cotton fabric. Damn it, this is just what he didn't want to happen. He knew that giving her a long sleeve shirt was going to have problems, but she was going to stay overnight and a T-shirt was out of the question. She was so much smaller than him and because of that, his clothing dwarfed her. If she bent down to get something, he'd see something he couldn't risk seeing, but now, the same fabric that was supposed to keep from tempting him was also keeping him from treating her. How was he going to reach the wound? Sifting through his options, he sighed. He was going to have to ask her to do it. Hopefully Kami was on his side this time.

"Sakura, I'm sorry, but you're going to have to open your shirt."

She simply stared at him with a blank expression. He raked a hand through his hair tiredly. She was certainly taking it better than he expected, that's for sure.

"I'm sorry?" Sakura asked, blinking her eyes and shaking her head as she waited to know if she had heard right. Honestly, he couldn't blame her. It wasn't everyday that a teacher asked his student to strip, but he quickly moved away from the thought.

"I need you to open the first few buttons of your shirt so I can get to your shoulder. The sleeve won't go any further, so I need you to open your shirt so I can examine your wound. It's the only way I can do it. I'm sorry, Sakura."

And he waited silently, head bowed as she decided. Would she think little of him for doing this? He wouldn't be surprised. If he were her, he'd do the same, but she didn't know that he was a jaded pervert. She just thought of him as the man who she loved and would never hurt her and he wanted to slap her for it. He had stolen her first kiss and had almost stolen her virginity in a car outside her parents' home. He had no shame and rarely felt remorse for things he did wrong, so why did she love him? Why did she think he was deserving of such things? Couldn't she see him for who he really was or were her rose-colored glasses too thick for her to see clearly anymore?

Glancing up, he saw her shoulders tense. So that was her answer. Even if it wasn't the smartest thing to do at the moment, it'd be better for her in the long run and he'd just have to accept that, but that was before her lips pulled into a line and her whispered response of 'alright,' was uttered into the air.

Stunned by her response, he could only watch as her fingers moved to undo the buttons of the shirt, more and more skin exposed to the silvery moon with every button opened before she sat before him with a silver halo around her hair and skin bathed in moonlight. Staring at her, he couldn't think, couldn't speak, could barely breathe as he looked at her with wonderment. Sheer beauty was the only way he could describe it.

Realizing that he had not moved, he coughed into his hand, clearing away the lump that had formed in his throat before moving slightly closer to her. Brushing away the collar of her shirt, he saw from the corner of his eye that her shoulders tensed and she was sitting up straighter, but ignored it. Pointing this out would not only make things more difficult for her, but him as well.

Pushing the shirt further aside, ignoring the small sparks shooting up his fingertips as his hands skated over the smooth skin of her clavicle, he grabbed a cotton ball and a bottle of rubbing alcohol from the kit. The wound was small and was beginning to clot now that her shirt wasn't aggravating the wound, but small fibers were still trapped inside. He sighed and moved off the bed, grabbing the pair of tweezers from the plastic box.

"This is going to be a bit uncomfortable, but bear with me." Her response was merely a nod, but it granted him the permission he needed. Raising the metal tweezers, he meticulously began removing the small white fibers from her wound, wincing as it began to bleed again. The bullet had just grazed her skin, leaving a thin cut and burns around the surrounding area under her deltoid muscle. She would definitely have a scar from this.

Dabbing a bit on the small cotton ball, he pressed it to her wound, listening to her hiss. He offered her no words of apology because invariably, he'd never be able to make the act of applying alcohol to sterilize the wound not painful, but he saw her brows were still furrowed, even after he removed it from her skin.

"Are you alright?"

And she started, looking up before turning to him. Realizing he asked a question, she nodded. "Oh, I'm fine, but…"

"But?" he asked, suspicious of the condition that the 'but' was placed under. Was it that she wanted him to hurry up because she was getting cold or was it because she now realized that this was improper and for him to let her do it herself? She turned her head to stare at him.

"How did you get that scar?"

Not expecting that answer, he blinked. "Which scar?" he asked as he looked at his arms and the rest of his body not hidden by the sleeveless shirt he wore. He had lots of scars, but many were covered by his shirt, so which one was she talking about?

"This scar," she whispered as she brushed her fingers over his closed eye and he reveled in the thrill that ran up his spine as she gently traced over the scar until her fingers were stopped by the fabric of his mask. Slowly, he opened his eyes, both of them, and listened to her small gasp as he revealed his other eye to her for the first time. Not many people got to see this part of him. Even when he was having sex, this eye would always be closed. She was the first person to see his eye in a while.

He let her stare for a minute, watching as she gazed upon it with curiosity and wonderment. It was understandable. Not only was this the first time she had ever seen it, it was a strange color: a red iris with three black tomoe around his pupil. As for the scar…

"I'd rather not talk about it," he answered truthfully as he brought the dampened cotton ball to her shoulder once more. She hissed, but nodded her understanding as he set to work once more. Satisfied, he opened the kit to remove a roll of bandages before closing it and placing everything on the floor.

He climbed onto the bed, the mattress dipping under his weight as he moved to sit near her. Satisfied by his location, he pushed away the shirt that had shuffled up her arm in his absence before tapping under her arm signaling that he wanted it raised. Following what she was told, she moved her arm up slightly, watching him nod with satisfaction before meticulously unraveling the roll of bandages.

Fingers skated over her skin with a grace never known before and she watched him as he placed the bandage under her arm before circling it around.

His motions were precise and his brows were furrowed with concentration. If she didn't know any better, she'd think he was working on a piece of art and she chuckled at the idea of him covered in splotches of paint as he made his masterpiece. It seemed to fit him and not at the same time and the idea made her smile.

Kakashi glanced up as she smiled and he felt one of his own tugging at his lips before he nipped it in the bud. Instead, he completed the knot on her bandages and looked at it with contentment.

"There," he said as he withdrew his hands. His fingers accidentally brushed against her skin and he heard her gasp as stars exploded before her eyes and he gritted his teeth against the sound to stave off his awakening demons, but his resolve had melted long ago. There was nothing wrong with living in a fantasy. As long as it didn't escape into reality, fantasy was fine for him. It didn't matter that he could never have her like he wanted to or dreamed of. This was enough.

He moved closer, bringing his face inches from her skin. He could feel the warmth radiating off of her and let his fingers brush against her once again as they feigned an accidental touch. Her skin was petal-soft and in the moonlight, it looked almost pure white.

Her sharp intake of breath echoed in the room and this time, he did not remove his fingers, letting them stray at the side of her breast as he measured her breathing. She was so sensitive and touching her and not having her was driving him insane. _She_ was driving him insane.

'_It's just a lie. I'm just touching, not taking,'_ he thought to himself as he pulled down the fabric of his mask to press his lips to the strap of her bra. The feel of satin sliding over his lips was sheer delight and the whimper he drew from hers made it even more wonderful.

Slowly, he moved westward, letting his lips ghost over her skin until he was buried in the crook of her neck. Her scent had changed, he realized, as he inhaled and let the smile that wanted to escape do so. It was still the scent of jasmine, but it was mixed with the clean scent of rain that still clung to her body.

Letting his mind wander, he continued his assault on her senses, utterly content with just teasing her here. Strange how she could make him feel so wonderful without doing anything at all and he chuckled to himself before letting his touches increase in pressure. He could hear her moans, feel her shaky breaths ghost over the shell of his ear before he let himself tease her further.

Placing his lips over where her pulse raced, he smiled to himself knowingly before letting his tongue dart out, laving over the skin and feeling her buck at the unexpected sensation before moaning loudly. She was so sensitive, just like he thought she would be. If he wanted to, he could probably make her orgasm with only a few expert touches, but that would be taking.

As he continued assaulting her senses, more sounds left her lips and they beckoned to him like a siren's call. It was beautiful and maddening and he couldn't ignore them, so he began journeying upwards, kissing her jaw, just under her lips, the corner of her mouth as she stared at him through lust-stained eyes from beneath lowered lids. Immediately, he became wary. If he kissed her, would he be taking again? If he kissed her, would she take it the wrong way? Looking into her eyes, he could see her pleading with him to kiss her and he could feel her hands shift between them for the first time since this began. He grabbed them before she had a chance to put them to use and stared at her questioningly.

"Please…"

And he suddenly found himself torn. He didn't want to do this. He didn't want to take her, but she did. She desperately needed him at that moment, but was she giving him this right because she believed he actually loved her? No words had been exchanged, but things were always louder with actions. She proved that when she slid her hands to lace their fingers together and he looked into her eyes, shimmering pools of beryl green that made his breath catch suddenly before he lowered his lids.

'_It's just fantasy. Nothing more, nothing less.'_

And then he kissed her, lips pressing together gently as he slid his hands down to encircle her wrists. He never realized just how slender they were until that moment as he rubbed circles into her palms and angled his lips to deepen the kiss. She responded like she thought she should, and in place of the amused smile that wanted to cross his lips, he tilted her chin with his fingers, forcing her to hold still as he tasted her. The mews and whimpers that escaped her, he drank until he couldn't get enough and he inwardly laughed at the idea of being entranced by a virgin, but he was past caring. He just needed more of her.

Gently, he lowered her into the bed, the two of them landing with a soft thud with the mattress pillowing them as their legs became tangled in the sheets and each other. From where she lay, she could see him and only him, but it was nothing compared to what she felt. Being there, lying underneath him was totally different. The scent of cologne and salt hung in the air with an underlying scent she could only define as him. The mattress lay under her back and her arms were at her sides as she lay beneath him. She felt trapped and the thought thrilled her as he laid claim to her senses. As he plundered her mouth, she felt her mind spin and fire burn through her, the flames rising higher with every glide his tongue. It was threatening to consume her and the idea drove her mad.

He felt her move under him and backed away to let her breathe as he stared down at her, a bright blush painting her features. Her lips were parted, swollen from his attentions, her shirt was crumpled, and her eyes were hazed with a lust that only he could sate. He thought she never looked lovelier in his life.

Fingers tangled into her pink tresses as he settled between her legs once more before lowering his head for another kiss, but she pulled away. "More. I need more," she pleaded, a blush staining her face. He visibly tensed.

"Are you sure this is what you want?" he asked softly as his gaze pierced hers. She replied with a demanding kiss, pulling her hands from his grasp to bury them in his hair as she tore groans from him. Against his lips, he could feel her smile and he chuckled. For a virgin, she was certainly a seductress.

Letting her take the reigns, he let his hands wander to hers, pinning them above her head before claiming her lips again. The kiss was slow, each stroke of his tongue designed to draw her out and drown her thoughts until all she could think of was what he was doing to her and how she was feeling as his other hand crept lazily downward. At the feel of his fingertips skating on her bare skin, she mewed, squirming as they crept lower to deftly undo the buttons of the shirt before brushing the fabric away. As his fingers brushed against the skin of her bare stomach, she gasped and he felt her lashes flutter against his cheeks. Slowly, he let go of her hands, drawing his down the length of her body before slipping it behind the small of her back.

His hand drew patterns into her skin as she slid her tongue against his. She was getting better, but she was a quick learner so it wasn't a surprise.

He pulled her against him and drinking her soft cry, he slid his hands up to her white-lace bra. He hadn't expected her to wear something so racy and he would be sad to see it go, but he wanted to see more of her. Being this close to her was driving him insane and he couldn't go another second without seeing the rest of her. He needed her _now._

"Wait."

And his actions paused. Was she having second thoughts? Had she finally realized that this was wrong, he wondered as he waited tensely. It was torture waiting for her reply. Her body was so close and he could feel the need to touch her once more coursing through his body.

This wasn't fair! He was so close. He was so fucking close that he could already taste her honey on his lips. His fingers twitched on her skin, his nails raking against her back causing her to arch and her breasts to rub against him. Even through the fabric of his shirt, he could feel her harden peaks and he shut his eyes to regain some form of control.

"You…"

He merely hung his head, letting it rest on her shoulder. Feeling her breath brush over the shell of his ear, he consoled himself with the thought that this had happened. Even if his twisted dreams would never come true, this was real. Underneath him was the one woman he wanted and could never have. Even if he would never be her first, the kisses were enough. This was enough.

"You…"

"Yes?" he whispered softly into her ear before pressing a kiss into her neck. If this was all he could ever have, he wanted to savor it. He brushed his lips against her cheek.

"Your shirt…"

And he blinked.

"My shirt?" he asked rising from her body. Looking down, he saw that a blush painted her skin, watching it extend to parts hidden by white lace. She refused to meet his gaze.

"Your shirt. It's not fair if I'm the only one naked," she murmured, blushing hotly. Her face was now turned from him, staring at the dresser at the opposite wall. He chuckled.

"I guess that's fair," he said darkly and curious, she turned her head, watching as he held the bottom of his shirt before pulling it over his head, slowly revealing his body. She stared in awe. She'd never seen anything like it and hesitantly, she reached out to touch his chest, her blush deepening as she traced the smooth skin. A strange ache began forming between her legs and she bit her lip in embarrassment before pulling her hands away, only to feel his hands catch hers.

She looked up, eyes staring into his in wonderment as she watched him press kisses where her pulse raced. Butterflies erupted in her stomach and she felt the ache between her legs grow. Slowly drawing away from her wrists, he placed her hands over his chest once more and she flinched at the heat radiating off him, moving to pull her hands away once again, but he held them there and slowly, she relaxed her hands, letting her fingers explore. His skin was soft and surprisingly smooth. From what she could see, he was well-muscled, but not disgustingly so. His body had more of a martial artist's feel, slender with power tensely coiled in each muscle. It reassured her of what she thought of him; a predator in wait for its prey. The hungry gaze she found when she looked up confirmed it.

"Like what you see?" he murmured darkly and she could feel something shift in the air. The cool temperature of the bedroom was gone now, fire taking its place. His aura had changed as well, to that of a conqueror and she quelled a shudder before looking up into his eyes again. They promised something dangerous, and the idea thrilled and frightened her at the same time.

"Ka—"

And he smashed his lips against hers, forcing his tongue into her mouth as he crushed her against him. It was bruising, maddening pleasurable, and frightening. Everything was going so fast and she didn't know what was going to happen anymore. She didn't know what to do anymore. This man was not Kakashi-sensei and she didn't know what he was going to do to her, and it scared her.

Urgently, she began clawing at his back, but he just pressed her closer, grinding himself against her in a way that repulsed her. She felt helpless—hopeless, and as his hands moved to her breasts, she closed her eyes and resigned herself to her fate.

Kakashi let his tongue dip into her mouth, groaning in need as he tasted her on his tongue. It was wonderful, finally getting this chance. Blood roared in his head and he was feeling lightheaded before they even began, smiling to himself as he listened to his demons laugh with glee. Angling his head to deepen the kiss, he felt something warm brush against his skin, wetting his cheek.

'_Tears?'_

And he slowly pulled away, the fog of lust lifting from his eyes as he saw her pinned under him, staring up at him with wide eyes tinged with fear as she sniffled and whimpered pathetically. She was scared and inwardly, he cursed. He had been concentrating so much on his needs, he forgot about hers. She was a virgin. Despite how skilled and ready she was in his dreams, this was reality and Haruno Sakura was a virgin, a girl with high hopes for her first time. This was supposed to be one of the most beautiful memories of her life, and he was ruining it.

Sakura stared up at him from where she lay. Her hair was fanned out underneath her, her hair tie lying somewhere in the sheets. She knew she was crying and it disgusted her, but she couldn't help it. She had decided to give away her virginity willy-nilly and she was going to have to live with the consequences.

Watching him move above her, she shut her eyes, hoping this would be over quickly when she felt something soft brush over her cheek, kissing away her tears. The presence moved away from her and she opened her eyes to see Kakashi above her with a small smile and regret tingeing his eyes. He kissed her forehead.

"I'm sorry, but you don't know how long I've been waiting for this and to have you finally here…" he confessed as he rested his forehead against hers tiredly and she looked at him in surprise as she felt her heart leap. So she hadn't been imagining it. He felt the same way she did.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she asked hesitantly and he started slightly, as if realizing she was just there before giving her a small half-smile and a peck on the lips.

"I want to make it up to you," he said as he began lavishing kisses down the curve of her jaw and she felt her heart flutter and her eyes roll back slightly when he began focusing his attention on where her pulse raced. From under her lashes, she saw him pause over her and nodded her consent, letting a small gasp escape her as cold air brushed over her newly revealed flesh. A soft cry of pleasure left her lips as he touched her there, kneading her flesh and a scream echoed as he wrapped his mouth around her pink bud, sucking gently on it as he continued swirling his tongue around her nipple. It felt wonderful and she let him know with a loud moan. Hearing him chuckle, she saw him looking at her amusedly with a knowing smile making her embarrassed blush spread. A scowl tried to escape, but it was quickly forgotten as he flicked the bud with the tip of his tongue. Her mind had stopped and when her back touched the mattress again, he was nuzzling her chest looking like a cat who found some cream.

He felt her eyes on his face and strayed in the warmth by her heart before pressing kisses to her skin, gently kneading her breasts as he slowly moved down her stomach. Her breathing had sped up and by the time he reached the hemline of her matching lace panties, she looked fit to explode.

"Nervous?"

She merely shook her head, not trusting her voice as his fingers continued their ministrations on her chest. At her response, he smiled against her stomach, feeling the muscles clench underneath before dragging his hands away from her breasts, trailing them down her side before scooting her up the bed. She looked at him with confusion. He smiled.

"Trust me," he whispered.

And she nodded that she did, slowly sinking back down into the bed as he let his fingers trace patterns on her legs. She sighed when his fingers brushed over her calves, squirmed as they tickled the undersides of her knees, and moaned as he rubbed her thighs. Unconsciously, she parted them wider as he moved closer, the slow smile never leaving his face as he continued his task.

A hum escaped her at some point, eyes closed and smile pleasured as he continued caressing her thighs. A whimper escaped her as his fingers crept closer to the source of her aching need and she felt her heart skip as his fingers caught hold of her waistband, slowly pulling down her legs to fully expose her to him. His gaze retained their relaxed position, but she saw the dark gleam in his eyes. He was looking at her in a way that made the butterflies in her nervous stomach go into a frenzy and the area between her legs ache stronger, made even worse as he began the gentle caress again. Each touch was followed by a kiss, a lick, or a slight nip that made her buck slightly at the unexpected sensation, but as she felt him press a kiss to her inner thigh and then another, her eyes widened.

"Sensei?!"

And he looked up, eyes in a dreamy daze as he stared up at her. His eyes were darker now and slightly unfocused and his breathing was more ragged than she remembered. His body radiated warmth and she could feel warm exhales tickle her skin as he smirked and spoke in a low voice that sent shivers up her spine.

"Yes?" he purred against her inner thigh, nuzzling her and smirking at the rise he got out of her. She shrieked.

"Sensei, what are you doing..._down there?_" she murmured blushingly. His smirk grew wider.

"I believe I was kissing you."

"I know that, but—"

"But what? You seemed to enjoy it," he countered with a lazy smile as he began rubbing her thigh. Every stroke his hand gave, his fingers would inch closer to her core and she would flinch at his every move. His touches would always slide near her entrance, but never actually touch and it was enough to drive her mad with anxiety.

"B-but it's embarrassing and dirty…" she whined quietly and he had to laugh at her words. If only she knew the real him. Then she'd have a real reason to feel embarrassed.

"You have no idea what you're talking about," he said with a slow smile as he bent his head down to pillow it on her leg as he stared up to her, the motions of his hand never stopping as he spoke. "For one thing, you have no idea how attractive you are. A man like me lives for these things," he whispered as he let his finger trail to the patch of pink curls on her nether regions, letting a fond chuckle escape him as he mused to himself how strange and unusually adorable it was before kissing her there. Hearing her gasp, he continued.

"You really don't know how you affect people, do you? How beautiful you are? How magical you can make a person? Everything about you," he whispered as he moved closer to her center of need, pressing tender kisses into her skin. "Your smell, your taste, your feel; you can bewitch a man without trying," he murmured softly looking up into her eyes. His lids were lowered and everything had taken on a fairytale-like quality.

"Sensei?"

And her voice called out to him, bringing him slightly from his daze before he moved closer. His breath was gently brushing against her lips, causing her to squirm uncomfortably.

"Sensei…" she whined and he felt his lids become heavier once more.

"I want to make you feel wonderful…" And at the sincerity in his voice, she forced herself to relax, unconsciously widened her legs as she watched him look at her with glazed eyes from under lowered lids. A finger traced her entrance and she bucked her hips, watching as sparks lashed out before her eyes.

"Sensei," she whined as he continued to drag his finger up and down her folds, watching the moisture collect there. He felt eyes on him and looked up, watching her watch him. Keeping eye contact, he slowly brought his finger to his mouth, wrapping his lips around the digit as he watched a deep blush stain her face as her fingers unconsciously clenched in the sheets. It was amazing how sensual she was and at the taste of her, he knew he had to have more.

Sheets shifted and she heard the fabric rustle as fingers held her and heat pressed close to her own. "Sensei…?"

"I'm going to taste you."

And it was the only warning she had before she felt his tongue invade her body with a groan that made her arch her back and scream.

He thrust his tongue into her body, lavishing her with wave upon wave of pleasure as a deep groan escaped him. He had been right. She tasted as wonderful as he had dreamt of, but _better._ It was heady and addicting and every scream and sigh she gave as he continued to pleasure her was making his head spin.

Warmth made itself known on his back and he moved his hands to hold her crossed legs, rubbing them encouragingly as she continued her cries of pleasure. Moving upwards, he let a hand slide under her, tracing light patterns into her skin before trailing his fingers to her slick entrance as he moved upwards and reveled in her screams as he teased her bundle of nerves and inserted his finger into her. He heard the intake of breath caught in her throat, surprised by the strange intrusion before she made a noise of complaint as it sank deeper into her.

Her hips shifted, moving further up the bed as she tried to shy away from him, but he held her, pinning her there with his arm and lavishing her with pleasure until she couldn't even think of moving before starting a steady rhythm with his finger.

He drank in her sounds, sighing contented against her entrance as he concocted a symphony from her sounds as he inserted another finger, then another, thrusting them in and out of her until she was clawing at the bed sheets to anchor herself to this world. Seeing her like that, so drunk with the sensations he had given her, was making ignoring the bulge in his boxers impossible and he began to draw away.

The sound of rustling fabric reached her ears through the fog and blinking up at the ceiling, she felt his fingers leave her and she wanted to sob.

She reached down, trying to stop him from leaving her so she could reach the pleasure she knew was there. It was so close, it was so painfully close that she could taste it and she tugged on his arm, trying to make him stay as the jolt rubbed against a spot against her that made her muscles contract sharply and an animalistic moan fall from her lips as she fell back into the bed. She was too weak to move, too close to that precipice that her mind could focus on nothing else and feeling his warmth leave her, she felt tears prick at her eyes.

Suddenly, she felt warmth against her skin and startled, she looked up, beryl eyes locking with his mismatched ones as he gazed upon her with the ghost of a smile on his face. Seeing her like this, face flushed with eyes staring him with need was better than any high he had ever known.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she asked timidly.

His answer was to claim her lips in a kiss that seared her senses as he aligned himself with her entrance, slowly pushing himself in before sharply thrusting into her burning heat and swallowing her scream with a groan. God, she felt so tight. It had been so long since he had a virgin, but even then it wasn't as good. This was the girl he had spent months lusting for and it was only inevitable that when he finally sated his needs, the pleasure would be unbelievable, but this was beyond that. This was bliss.

Coming up for air, he looked at her staring at him with tear-stained eyes as she bit her lip and whimpered in pain as he gritted his teeth against the sensation of her hardened peaks grazing his chest with every breath she took before he lowered himself to rest on his forearms placed on either side of her head to catch his breath.

"I'm sorry," he said finally after he regained control of his body once more. His demons screamed at him to move, to thrust in and out of her—fuck her like an animal because he knew it would make her scream his name—but he held them back. This night would already be painful for her. He didn't want to make it any worse if he could help it.

Her response was a sniffle as a tear fell down the side of her cheek. "It hurts…" she said, wincing at the pain between her legs. Kakashi looked at her sympathetically.

"I know. First times always do," he replied as he stroked away a tear with the pad of his thumb. The action soothed her and she relaxed her body, causing her inner muscles gripping him tightly. He hissed in pleasure. Catching the concern in her eyes, he waved her off.

"I'm fine, but…Kami, you have no idea how hard this is for me," he panted, cursing what his self-induced dry spell reduced him to. It had heightened his every sense and they had only just gotten started.

"Shit. Sakura, do you think you're ready? I'll only move when you are." But his body was already twitching in anticipation. If she made him wait any longer, he didn't know what he would do to her.

Seconds ticked by, every click the clock on his wall made feeling like an eternity in itself as he steeled himself. He had done well so far, what was a few more seconds? But his mind reminded him that he had been waiting an eternity for her and her alone. He was an impatient man when pushed and this was going beyond all reason.

Suddenly, he felt her eyelashes brush against him. Looking down, she did not meet his gaze, but nodded her head and it was all he needed.

His rhythm was slow, but deep, filling her up completely with every thrust his hips gave. Moans and gasps fell from her lips as he moved, the sensations he was laying upon her far from anything she had ever known. Pleasure whorled deep in her body and she managed to open her eyes to watch him move above her, face contorted in a mix of pleasure and pain as he concentrated on her body. Watching him bite his lip, she let her hands wander over his chest, watching as he threw his head back in the moonlight with a deep groan. _He was beautiful._

Her hands continued moving, trailing patterns into his skin that burned fire in their wake. Moving her hands to rest on his shoulder blades, he kissed her, nipping at her lower lip insistently as he sped up his rhythm. At the sudden burst of pleasure within her, she gasped, moaning as he slid his tongue into her mouth and stole her senses.

Looking down at her face, her eyes glazed over with lust as sounds of pleasure escaped her lips, he inwardly smirked to himself proudly as her mind became consumed with nothing but thoughts of him. How he was thrusting into her body, how his skin felt against hers, everything. On a particularly hard thrust, she threw her head back.

"More!" she screamed, unaware of how her nails were raking over his skin or how dirty she sounded, too enraptured with these new mind-numbing sensations to care as he groaned and sped up his rhythm, feeling her arch under him.

"Deeper!" she cried and he wrapped her legs around him, pounding in and out of her as he brought them closer and closer to coital bliss. Watching her scream under him, face contorted in pleasure made his head spin, but it wasn't enough. He needed her to say his name, to recognize it was him that was giving her such pleasure and it was him and him alone that was her first. He wanted to hear her scream it, scream it loud enough so everyone would know that he was her first and that she was his.

"Say it. Say my name," he whispered and in the back of her mind, she realized he was talking to her.

"Hmm?"

"Say my name," he said. His voice was rough and dark, the sound sending pleasure throughout her body with a moan as he sucked on her neck.

"Kakashi-sensei…" she whined as an unfamiliar sensation coiled its way in her belly. He suddenly thrust sharply into her body, making her lashes flutter as her eyes rolled back into her head, the sensations having increased.

Her body began moving with a mind of its own, solely trained on the task of moving to sate the desire within her. It was so close, so close that she could almost taste it, but he wasn't moving fast enough. The pleasure was getting close to painful and she thrashed her head. "Kakashi-sensei…"

"Then say my name," he rasped, thrusting deep into her body. A moan escaped her lips.

"Kakashi-sensei?" she queried, only to feel him reprimand her with a nip to her clavicle.

"Wrong," he answered as he pushed his hips against her. She screamed.

"Kakashi!"

Suddenly, he began to pick up speed. "Again," he commanded, thrusting savagely into her. She couldn't help but comply.

"Kakashi!" she screamed, only to have him claim her lips as he pounded in and out of her, moving them closer and closer to the pleasure they both sought so desperately. Suddenly, Sakura arched off the bed, limbs clinging tight to the man above her as her nails bit into his skin and his name fell off her lips in a chant.

"Kakashi!Kakashi!_Kakashi!_"

Hearing his name, feeling her muscles grip him as she cried out in ecstasy made his head spin. With a roar of her name, he thrust one last time into her body before throwing the two of them into an earth-shattering orgasm that flung them both into the stars.

* * *

Eyes blinked as a small moan left his lips. Looking blearily around the room, he realized that it was still dark out.

Gazing at the small clock on his nightstand, he saw it was roughly half an hour past two before he felt something stir beneath him. Looking below him, he saw Sakura, eyes closed as soft exhales escaped her lips. Despite himself, he chuckled at how adorable she looked when she was asleep and wondered how she even managed to do so when crushed under his weight.

Slowly, he sat up to lay on his back and looked at the tangled bed sheets before letting his gaze stray to the sleeping girl bathed in moonlight, features peaceful as she nestled against his side. Chuckling, he reached down to pull the covers over her so she wouldn't catch a cold. On a whim, he brought his lips down to hers in a tender kiss and watched her smile in her sleep. At her response, a fond smile escaped him before he scooped her nearer to him, letting her head rest on his shoulder. Pressing his lips to her, he kissed the top of her head, gazing down at her with sadness as she slept.

Reaching up, he tangled his fingers in her hair and watched the even rise and fall of her chest as he tried to imprint the moment in his mind, cherishing the sweet smile on her face and the lingering scent of jasmine on her skin. In the back of his mind, a picture of the blood staining his sheets lashed out at his eyes and he pushed the offending image away, forcing himself to focus on her and her alone as he tried to draw out what little time they had left before falling asleep, knowing full well he would be disgusted with himself the next time he opened his eyes.


	4. Culmination

Well, it is finally here. I have to say, this little project was incredibly fun. My dark side has been positively giddy since the first posting of this oneshot-turned-story. I don't know what to say other than thanks for all the support. Couldn't have done it without you. I mean 8 communities and almost a hundred faves! Give yourself a hand, people! You've managed to make an emo teen into a giddy schoolgirl. :D

And without further ado, the conclusion of Tempation. Hope you like it!

* * *

BZZT. BZZT.

The sound of an alarm clock echoed through the quiet apartment. In the streets below, a car alarm went off as morning traffic whizzed by in indiscernible zephyrs of air. Smog rose to the cloudy skies above, floating over the cityscape, but despite that, his nostrils were filled with the sweet breeze of jasmine flowers.

Kakashi turned to the sleeping person in his bed, watching as Sakura inhaled and exhaled in calm, even breaths. She had still been asleep when he woke up a few hours ago and not much had changed in the hours since then. The clock ticked on the wall.

A yawn and he tiredly blinked his eyes. He had been right in his assumption that the next time he woke up, he would be disgusted with himself. He just didn't know how soon that time would come, only having gotten half an hour of sleep before waking up again from the musings of his own mind. It couldn't be helped. Not many things could soothe a conscience after having knowingly had sex with an underage girl, never mind his own student.

Fingers skated across his skin as she shifted in her sleep to rest her head on his arm and softly sighed. A strange feeling of warmth crept through his body at the touch and he found himself content once more with tangling his fingers in her pink hair before a frown crossed his lips and his mouth opened on a tired sigh.

It was strange how normal he felt. He just had sex with a minor. Shouldn't he have burst into flames by the power of some omniscient being? But he hadn't. Even his conscience seemed to have taken a back seat, content on watching him squirm with little disregard as warm pools of strange feelings burst and bloomed inside him like fireworks. Maybe normal wasn't the right word after all, but he did feel normal.

A sigh and he looked down as he placed his hand on her shoulder, bringing her closer to him. A smile painted her lips and she happily settled against him, blissfully unaware of the feelings crossing his eyes.

Another sigh—his this time as he felt regret curl deep in the pit of his stomach. Maybe now the guilt was kicking in.

No, that wasn't why he was feeling this way. He didn't regret last night with her. In fact, it was probably one of the few times in his life that he was truly happy. What he regretted was the fact that she probably didn't feel the same way he did. He cared for Sakura, cared for her well-being, cared for her happiness. It might have been love, and it probably was, but he would never admit it to himself because admitting meant accepting and Hatake Kakashi was a coward before anything else.

It scared him how she could evoke such emotions in him. He never felt these things. He was cool, calm, collected. He had never lost control before. He never had to bow to anyone or anything and there she was, the chit of a girl that made everything change. Change was normal, change was good, but it was too much, too soon. It was strange, scary, and exhilarating to the point where he believed it would reach up and swallow him whole.

Staring down at her sleeping visage, it had never been clearer that what he felt was different from what she felt. It was a startling and disheartening realization, but maybe he was wrong? He never could read her fully. Maybe she did love him, but it was less likely that she did because maybe she only thought she loved him. It was the bane of parents the world over for a reason because honestly, what did teenagers know about love? They didn't know what they were doing. It was just impulse to say that they loved a person when it was just a hormonal phase.

But maybe Sakura was different. Maybe it wasn't just hormones. She had proved time and time again that she was much more mature than people gave her credit for. Maybe it was the same in that area, but he didn't know, didn't want to know because the idea of her truly being in love with him scared him just as much as her not being in love with him.

He had felt these things before, he realized. Long, long ago, he felt these same strange twinges of ecstasy and guilt; joy and sorrow, for another girl. Rin was her name. She was bright, beautiful, and the girlfriend of his best friend. She was dead now, of course, but he couldn't help thinking of how much Sakura reminded her of him. He had never told her how he felt, not only because what he had felt scared the shit out of him, but because he had no right to. He had thought of doing it when they all graduated high school, but decided against it. Not only would it be unfair to Obito, it would have been unfair to Rin as well.

College separated them—different dreams, different paths—and time came and went, taking with it Rin and Obito. The cause was a car accident; a five-car collision caused by some idiot who decided it was a good idea to drive drunk and closing his eyes, he could almost see the broken headlights flash and flicker like fireflies and smell the gasoline leaking onto the streets.

The funeral was a small, quiet affair. Everyone was dressed in black and above them, snow drifted gently to the ground. The only reason he remembered this was because as he sat down for the traditional meal to forget the sorrows of death, he realized how much he had changed. He lived on liquor, thrived on sex, and it was only with the death of his closest friends that he realized he had changed in the short few years between that moment and high school. He had been nothing like that in high school, but then again, he never had to nurse a broken heart before.

That was probably how his need for sex occurred, nothing more than a short-lived venture to cover up a problem deeper than he would like to believe. Even now, it was the same. It was a habit, a drug, a lovely wonderful vice that he liked to keep at his side because he could forget everything, but Sakura changed that. It was no longer just a salve. He had something he wanted to give, something to prove. The days spent watching her were the beginnings of something bigger and he brushed it off as nothing more than a quick infatuation with a fantasy. He had wanted her, but his need ran deeper than either of them knew. He wanted her, all of her, to the point that seeing her with anyone else was absurd. It was wishful thinking on his part and he knew that. She could never be with him and he could never allow it. He cared too much for her to do that. She had a bright future ahead of her and he couldn't allow himself to stop her from that just because he couldn't keep his hands to himself and his dick in his pants because she deserved more than a jaded thirty-year-old pervert.

And so, he would stay away, ignore his feelings like he did with Rin for his sake as well as hers and pray for her happiness as he watched her from afar. It was cheesy. It was masochistic. It was sappy, but it was the closest you would ever get to a confession that he loved her.

As if sensing his decision, she clung tighter to him. His senses became filled with her; how she smelled, how beautiful she looked, even asleep. Her hair was splayed out like a fan, lips parted slightly as her lashes rested lightly on her cheeks. A strand was caught at the edge of her lip and he brushed it aside, a sigh of contentment escaping her lips.

It would be hard to leave her, especially after how deep she had crawled under his skin and he chuckled as he mused at how much of a wreck he would be afterwards. No one would notice because no one would see. He would look perfectly normal for society to see during the day and live in fitful dreams filled with her at night. He would fall back into his old habits, fucking women any and everywhere while playing the patron saint during school hours because he could and everyone would love the lie he had laid out for them while he glared, spat, and despised them all as the creatures he knew them to be.

A knock sounded and dimly, he realized someone was at the door. Turning his head, he saw that she was still asleep and slowly disentangled their limbs, savoring every brush and touch as he freed his limbs and she slept. Inwardly, he winced at the blood staining his sheets and thighs and swallowed the lump in his throat. It was what he wanted. He was her first and he would own her for all eternity. It was a bittersweet victory to say the least, but at least he had last night as a memory.

The knocks sounded more urgently. He tugged on his discarded pair of boxers and shirt, cursing under his breath. "Coming!" he called in the hallway.

He opened the door. "Sasuke?"

"You bastard! He's dead! He's dead!" Sasuke seethed, eyes wild as he gripped Kakashi's shirt collar so tight, his knuckles turned white. Kakashi shook his head to dispel his shock. He couldn't have heard that right.

"What? Wait, Sasuke; slow down. Who's dead?"

"He's dead. He's dead, and it's your fucking fault!" he screamed, wild eyes flashing red in anger and rage as he blinked back the tears. Memories began flashing before his eyes; images of the car, the blood pools. Bullet casings littered the area by the open car door and all Sasuke could think of at that moment was the chalk outline staring at him from the cement.

Movement. Another image was trying to edge in, but he pushed it away before he could see it. He already knew what it was anyway; the scene when they wheeled the body away. When he passed by that street this morning and saw the car, he had tried to brush it off. He couldn't be the only one who had that model car, but that was before the stretcher hit a bump and an arm flopped out. His arm. His body. His car. That was his car with the broken windshield. That was his blood splattered on the leather interior; his body being carted off, never to breathe nor smile again.

His strength left him at that moment, arms feeling tired and body weary beyond his years. His eyes were glazed, staring into a past and future that no longer existed and the taste of bile began to rise on his tongue. Darkness was creeping at the edge of his mind, and for the first time in his life, he felt lost and agonizingly alone.

He was choking on gasps and sobs, unable to stop them now. The vomit was trying to rise and tears were blinding him with his rage and guilt. He couldn't stand to look at Kakashi anymore, couldn't stand to look at himself when he was here breathing and his best friend wasn't. Why did it have to be him?

He felt eyes on him and realized Kakashi was staring at him with a pitying gaze, awkward sorrow coloring the air around them. The way he was looking at him said he understood, but how could he? How could he understand what he was going through? Not only had he lost his best friend, he lost the only person who understood him.

Anger coursed through his body. Kakashi did not understand. He didn't understand at all, couldn't. The fact he was trying to was unbelievable because it was unthinkable, audacious. He would never be able to know this type of devastation and his hands were once more buried in his shirt, gripping the man there with strength he never knew he had. Through his anger, he dimly realized that a door had opened and he turned his gaze to the intruder, knowing Kakashi had done the same, and what he saw made his anger dissipate and disgust coil in his stomach.

* * *

When Sakura woke up, the first thing she realized was that this was not her room. Her room was a soft pink color and the walls around her were white. Her window opened to a residential neighborhood, unlike the shadows of skyscrapers she saw now. The sun was peeking through the clouds; its golden rays cast on the wooden floor and discarded clothes. She felt cold, and realized she was naked beneath the blue sheets that did not belong to her.

Her mind began to move, the cogs clicking and whirring as it processed this new information. Around her, the scent of sandalwood and something else filled the air and a pleasured sigh escaped her lips, sparking memories of the night before. So it hadn't been a dream.

'_It really did happen.'_

Autopilot kicked on at this moment. It was a school day and she had to get ready; brush her teeth, wash her face, shower. Her shirt was torn and blood-stained, but she'd worry about that later. The shower came first.

She moved her legs, getting ready to cast off the sheets and throw her legs onto the floor when a sharp ache stopped her. Slowly, she began feeling other things as well; the stickiness of her skin, the dry tickle in her throat, the slowly awakening aches in her back and between her thighs.

Casting off the sheets, she stared down at her body. Her face was flushed with embarrassment and she winced at the bruises on her thighs, the dried blood down there as well. A strange sensation reached her fingertips and she realized she was fingering a dried blood stain on the sheets.

A crash, a clatter. Something was going on outside in the dining room and she quickly grabbed the white shirt on the floor, putting it on as shouts reached her in the bedroom. Someone was dead? Who? Who was dead? When? Where? Questions rocketed in her mind as she buttoned the shirt. Throwing her legs over the side of the bed, she stood and cried out in pain as her legs wobbled and collapsed under her. Outside, a chair clattered onto the floor and she pulled herself up, moving alongside the walls as she moved past the door.

"Kakashi?"

And he turned towards her, but someone else was there. Sasuke. Sasuke was there. Why was he there? His face twisted with disgust.

"First, he's dead and now you're sleeping with our teacher?!" he screamed, mind reeling with the telltale signs; the shirt, the hickeys, the awkward leg position—the _blood._ Nausea curled in his stomach, adding to his exhaustion and he threw himself away from them, too frustrated to want anything to do with them and too tired to do it.

"Who's dead?" she asked calmly, softly, easily as if it were a normal day's occurrence. It was sick, twisted, and if not for the flicker in her eyes and the slight tremor in her voice, he probably would've done something to her.

"Naruto. Naruto's dead. He was shot. They found the car this morning." And at first, there was nothing, but slowly, things began coming to her—he could see it in her face.

It started as a flicker, the slow steady processing of words as her eyes stared at something yet nothing at all before changing. Her eyes flared bright with recognition and slowly grew wider as the information hit her until it overwhelmed her. Her legs became unsteady and her body shook. Her hand covered her mouth and she looked like she was going to be sick.

"It's all my fault," she whispered as tears leaked from her eyes, "It's all my fault."

Her body trembled violently and Kakashi moved to catch her, but she drew away, too disgusted with herself to let anyone touch her lest they become dirty as well. "It's all my fault..."

It was her fault; her fault that Naruto was dead. She hadn't gone back for him. She hadn't done anything to help him. There were so many things she should've done. She should've stayed. She should've fought. She should've called for help. Why didn't she call for help once she got to the apartment?!

"Sakura, there was nothing you could've done."

"How do you know, Kakashi? You weren't there. He told me to run, but I could've stayed. I should've stayed. I could've ignored him. Maybe I could've grabbed the gun. If I had stayed, things could be different right now. He could still be alive."

"The only thing that would've been different is that you would've died too!"

His breaths were coming out in harsh pants. Across the room, Sakura was staring at him in shock and he knew Sasuke was doing the same behind him. There was a knock at the door and he went to answer it, too sick of playing referee in a game of make-believe to deal with it any longer.

"Kakashi, you're here. It's about Naruto. He's…" Tsunade trailed off, eyes absorbing the scene. Sasuke, Kakashi, Sakura...

"You bastard—you were sleeping with her the entire time!" Tsunade screamed angrily as she entered the apartment. Sakura continued to tremble with her guilt. Kakashi would not meet her gaze.

"I can't believe this. You told me that there was nothing between you two. You promised me that nothing would happen to her. You gave me your word! Were you that bored with your women that you had to go after her?"

Kakashi remained silent.

"Did you force her?" she asked before a crazed laugh escaped her. "Of course you did. How long has this been going on?"

"Only last night," he answered quietly.

"Liar," she spat, ignoring the visible flinch in his hanged head. "The authorities will be involved in this. Her parents are going to kill you. I'm surprised I haven't already. You're going to jail. At best, you'll only lose your job, but I'll make sure that no one ever hires you again. And—"

"NO!"

A piercing scream interrupted them. Shocked, Tsunade and Kakashi turned to Sakura who held Tsunade's gaze pleadingly. "It wasn't his fault. It was mine and it was only last night, I swear. Please Tsunade, don't do this to him!" The hands holding Tsunade's trembled. Her eyes were red and leaking tears, her throat raw from screaming. She was a stone's throw away from collapsing in the tense air. The clock ticked in the bedroom.

Tsunade began to draw her hand away. Sakura felt her heart catch in her throat. Tsunade didn't believe her. Kakashi was going to lose his job, his reputation—everything—and it was all her fault. The tears began to flow more steadily down her face. A sigh caught her attention.

"Alright. Tell me what happened from the beginning—the both of you."

Kakashi looked to Sakura who nodded firmly, giving him permission to tell. Sighing heavily, he began. "It started a few months ago…"

* * *

Wind blew through the trees. It was June and the skies were painted a pale grey, the clouds blocking out the sun. Grass rippled with the breeze and aside from their faint rustle and the low hum of bees, it was quiet on the hilltop.

"Do you think he'll like it here?"

"I'm sure he will, Sakura," Kakashi answered truthfully as they gazed at the grey headstone. It was small and unoffending, the calligraphy carved neatly into the stone. Flowers and incense stood at the foot of it and out of the corner of his eye, he watched Sasuke's reaction as the smoke curled over the carved name of Uzumaki Naruto.

The funeral had been a small affair. Despite school letting out days ago, not many students appeared with frivolous excuses of being busy and already having plans. It was a funeral for God's sake! Surely they could've made time for it, but they didn't. The only students that came were Sakura, Sasuke, and the shy quiet girl who liked him. Her cousin and his girlfriend were there as well and awkward apologetic glances were exchanged through the entire ceremony. As soon as the offering of incense was done, Hinata and Tenten left, leaving a bitter taste in all their mouths.

"I'll be waiting in the car," Sasuke said suddenly, walking down the hill. Kakashi and Sakura watched his leave and quietly turned back to the headstone.

"What will you do now?" Sakura asked. Her voice was a bare whisper; a small, sad lilting song that floated on the breeze. She was referring to his recent unemployment. He wasn't surprised. Though the students and faculty had been told that Kakashi quit his job, Tsunade had forced him to resign as part of a deal they made. If he resigned, no one would ever hear of the real reason for his leave. The only people who knew were Sakura, her parents, Tsunade, Sasuke, and him.

When the school first heard of Kakashi's resignation, there had been a sort of surprise that washed over the school. It was like a spell. Suddenly, everyone was sorry, as if they never expected a teacher to leave because of their words. The students were gloomy and the teachers remorseful. In the last month of school, he found his mailbox filled with gifts and the teachers offering trips to the bar on them and Kakashi would've found the whole thing touching if he wasn't so disgusted with them. It was only now that everyone was making such a big deal about his leaving and though he wanted to laugh in their faces for how wrong they were about him then and now, he didn't want anything to do with them now. They could keep their half-assed apologies.

Standing on that hill, he wondered for the briefest second how they would sleep at night, knowing what they had done before waving it off. He would be forgotten with the school year—just look at Naruto. Oh well, at least Sakura would be safe now.

"I think I'll travel for a while. See the world a little bit; visit some people I haven't spoken to in a while. After that, I guess I'll find a job. Teaching will be a bust though," he joked, turning his head and smiling as Sakura chuckled and he drank in the sound. It was soft and delicate—almost ethereal, much like her voice and as it faded, the sadness became more tangible. Looking closely at her, he could see things he hadn't seen before. She had dark circles and lines around her eyes. She looked tired and her eyes were pleading with him for a direction, a sign—anything. He did not say a word and resignedly, she began her way to Sasuke's car before pausing to look over her shoulder.

"Will…will I ever see you again?" Her tone was firm, but slightly unsure. Her eyes held his. She felt weak inside, but held herself high, strong. She was demanding an answer from him and in that moment, he could see who she was—who she would be. She would become quite the woman and the man who managed to get her would be very lucky indeed. Even as he looked at her, jealousy and regret began to gnaw at his insides, but he ignored it. This was for the best. Leaving her was for the best. Even if she didn't understand it and neither did he. She had a future and deserved better, so this was the best thing he could do for her, or at least…that was what he kept telling himself.

He stared at the ground. His hands were buried deep in his pockets, fumbling, fidgeting as he searched for an answer that would placate her fears of him leaving her. She wanted to know that he would not disappear from her forever. She wanted to know everything was okay—would be okay when it wasn't and never would be. He was leaving her forever because he knew if he saw her once more, the dams would break and they would be exactly where they had started.

"I'll drop you a line," he answered at last. It wasn't the truth, but it wasn't a complete lie. Who knows? Maybe he would call her one day. Even if he kept telling himself that he would cut ties with her forever, he didn't know if he could hold himself to that. The future was unpredictable, forever shifting and changing with the sands and tides. He could make all the promises and oaths in the world, but he knew he would never be able to keep them because she had changed something in him. There would always be that temptation to see her, be with her again. It could be days, it could be years, but maybe they would meet again. If they did, he would not mind it at all. They would talk, they would laugh. Maybe they would date, get married, or maybe she would already be married. He had no problems being the other man if it was her. As long as it was her, he would not mind.

His answer seemed to satisfy her because she smiled mysteriously. It made him wonder if she knew something he didn't, making him wary and excited at the same time, but before he could ask, she was already halfway down the hill. Pausing, she turned around to smile and laugh brightly. "Bye Kakashi-sensei!"

And before he could correct her, she was gone, zooming down the winding path in Sasuke's car with the wind blowing through her hair and her laugh echoing in his mind. Memories of them flickered in his mind. Small, menial things like how she always helped him in grading papers and all the times she brought him his coffee and briefly, a small wistful smile crossed his lips before he swallowed it down with his regret. Sighing to himself, he looked to Naruto's grave once more before going down the opposite side of the hill, the silhouette of Sakura walking away dancing before his eyes, haunting his mind.


End file.
